


Unexpected Arrival Of The Past

by jolly_love



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (main) POV Harry Potter, Adoption, Angst with a Happy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Mental Breakdown, Mild Blood (Nightmares), Multi, Nightmares, POV Draco Malfoy, POV James Potter, POV Remus Lupin, Past Addiction, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Therapy, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2019-11-06 13:25:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 87
Words: 223,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17940542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jolly_love/pseuds/jolly_love
Summary: When Harry tiptoes around a corner after curfew, he's faced with three people of his past: Sirius, Remus und James. They had accidentally turned a Time Turner and are now stuck in a world after Voldemort died. How will they go back and can they help Harry with everything that he's going through?





	1. The Incident

**Author's Note:**

> The love story between Draco and Harry will only take place a few chapters in. The main story focussing on the marauders going back to their time line. I hope you'll like it. I had so much fun writing it.

Harry closed the book he had been reading for the past few hours. He rubbed his temples and took off his glasses to try and rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. Why did he even come back for the eighth year? He could have had and done anything. He had saved the Wizarding World! However, Hermione was right. He should learn everything Hogwarts had to offer. And they really didn’t do any learning in their seventh year. Well, except how to survive while being hunted. For one, even Ron had agreed and they had continued studying magic as if nothing ever happened. As he put his glasses back on, he checked the time and froze. Hermione would be furious with him. He told her he would just go into the library for one hour. It had been almost five.

With a jolt, Harry got up and slipped the book about the three unforgivable curses back into one of the book shelves. He took his cloak and snuck out of the Restricted Section. The library was empty, which made sense, seeing as though it was way past curfew. Luckily, the door wasn’t locked.

Harry had just left the library and put on his Invisibility Cloak, when he heard a dull noise and a few muffled voices. Harry wasn’t sure if he should investigate, seeing that if someone saw him, he would be in as much trouble as the students out of bed. However, his interest peaked and he tiptoed around a corner to see three young men clearly holding a time turner in their hands. They looked around questioning and then back on the golden jewelry.

Suddenly, it hit Harry really hard. The three men standing in the deserted corridor in the middle of Hogwarts were from the past. They resembled his godfather Sirius Black with his black almost uncombed hair, Remus Lupin, scares all over his face and light brown hair, and with his back to Harry, James Potter. His father. His hair just as untamable as his own.

Harry bit his lower lip. What did they do, that landed them in the future? In that moment, a little piece of the time turner fell onto the floor. Remus picked it up quickly and glared at Sirius.

“Now, what were you thinking?! Where are we and what is going on?” he asked with a stern voice, Harry heard him use so often when he was a professor.

Sirius seemed genuinely shocked and stared at the little piece and then at the time turner. His mind apparently unable to even form a sentence. James, however, answered rather quickly in defense of Sirius.

“Oh, we had everything under control, until you showed up and had to try and take it from us! We would have put it back, eventually!” he justified their actions. Remus glared at both of them.

Harry couldn’t help but smile. He shook his head and hid behind the corner, even though they couldn’t see him with his cloak. The shock of seeing his dead father, well, young father, didn’t leave his bones. The sadness, Harry had anticipated ever since he realized that his father stood there, never overtook him, at his own surprise. Harry knew he had to act quickly, not just to get these three time travelers away from the open corridors, but also to find Hermione and Ron who could definitely help him and the people from the past.

Acting on his intuition, he took off his cloak, pocketed it and went around the corner to see that Sirius, Remus and James still stood there, arguing quietly. He walked closer and recognized grinning, that Sirius and Remus suddenly stared from Harry to his father. They did look quite like each other, everyone had told him. When James turned around, it really was like looking into a mirror.

Still, Harry kept his expression straight and pointed at the three boys.

“Well, what are you doing out here at this time? Better come with me, so no one finds you out of bed!” he commented and shoved James into the direction of the Gryffindor tower. Sirius and Remus followed immediately, seemingly not wanting their friend to be taken away by a stranger.

Harry checked the map discreetly, to see that the professors, either on night shift or on their own accord, where on the other side of the castle. When he hid the map again, he caught Remus’ eyes on him and smiled shortly.

They entered the Gryffindor tower through the portrait hole and Harry was happy to see that Hermione was still awake and sitting in front of the fire, reading a book about potions. When Harry entered the Common Room, she looked up and was just about to say something, when the others behind him walked in.

Her words seemed to be stuck in her lungs. However, she pulled herself together really quickly and turned to Remus.

“So, do you know what year we have now?” she asked him without any introduction. He frowned and then shook his head, not without glaring at Sirius again, who looked to the floor, rather guilty.

“It’s October 1998” she explained and the boys who traveled about twenty-five years into the future went pale. “What year are you in?” she continued to pester them with questions.

“Fifth”, Sirius said quickly and stared back at the floor.

Before Hermione could ask more questions, Ron came down from the dormitories and suddenly stopped as he saw the three boys.

“Okay. Am I dreaming, because they clearly look like bad copies of…” He started but was interrupted by Hermione.

“Ron, go and fetch McGonagall, she should know what to do”, she said looking at the broken time turner. Without hesitation, Ron left the Common Room to get the head teacher.

It was quiet for a few minutes. Only the crackling fire and the somewhat intense stares of everyone filled the room. Harry could feel his father’s looks on him pretty much all the time. As well as Remus’ careful evaluation of the whole situation. He was probably trying to come up with a good answer to how they got stuck here. Hermione had left the room and came back with a book about Time Turners and how they worked. Harry had to bite back a grin. She was always prepared for everything. However, maybe it was just a book she got, after everything in third or fifth year to understand how time worked.

The uncomfortable silence was interrupted, when McGonagall and Ron entered the room. “Sweet Merlin” said McGonagall as she saw the three unwanted guests. “How did this happen?” she asked them. Remus explained that he had seen James and Sirius playing with or working on a time turner and that he wanted to take it from them, to put it back from where ever they had gotten it. That they accidentally turned it and found themselves in the future.

The head teacher nodded and turned to Harry. “And how could you have found them outside of the Common Room, Mr. Potter?” she asked in her Scottish accent. Harry could see Remus and Sirius look at James. His father’s eyes opened in surprise and then looking at him carefully.

“I was studying in the library and forgot the time” he answered simply. “When I left, I found them around the corner.”

Apparently, McGonagall was satisfied with that answer and turned back to the three boys who were definitely more than a little confused.

“Where is your time turner?” she asked. When they handed her two pieces, she sighed and looked at them disapprovingly. “Of course nothing is ever easy when you’re around” she said more to herself than to the marauders.

“Can’t we just get another time turner and you bring us back to our time? No harm done!” Remus suggested and his eyes wandered from the head teacher to Harry and Hermione.

“Well, you see” Hermione started slowly, “all of the time turners had been destroyed in… well, yeah. There aren’t any left.” She had looked at Sirius, but her eyes fell to the ground, before she could mention the battle at the Ministry.

When Sirius looked at Harry questioning, he just nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “We have to fix the one you broke, so we can send you back.” He explained.

“How… How long is this going to take?” James asked with a worried glance at Remus.

“That, Mr. Potter, is a very good question” McGonagall answered and pocketed the two pieces of the time turner. She turned to Ron and asked him to get professor Slughorn. Once he had exited the room, she turned to the time travelers. “You will need to get different names, since in the future, almost everyone here knows yours.”

“Are we famous?” James yelled out with an almost proud voice, that made Harry’s heart hurt way too much.

McGonagall smiled. Harry could see a glimpse of sadness in her eyes, as she answered with a simple “Yes, of course.”

“High five!” Sirius called out and clapped the hands of James and a not so very happy Remus. The head teacher slightly shook her head, but was still smiling.

“So, Mr. Black: Your new name will be Simon Boot. Mr. Potter will be Julian Podmore. And for Mr. Lupin: Richard Limus. Which means your initials stay the same. All of you are transfers from Beauxbatons, your parents wanted you to go to Hogwarts. And now that it is save once more, they moved back. They were gone to… to get away from the war.” Her eyes narrowed as she saw Remus’ mouth open for a question. “No questions about what is going to happen to your real identities or what happened in the last few years. The lesser you know the easier you can slip back into your normal life, once we get you back.” She concluded. Harry caught Sirius rolling his eyes and had to bite down a laugh.

Before anyone could even ask or comment on something, the door opened one more time and a very tired potions professor walked in. The moment he saw the three time travelers, however, his eyes grew big.

“So, it’s true!” he said with a voice that still seemed tired.

He took three flasks out of his pocket and gave it to McGonagall. Remus seemed to understand immediately what was going on.

“Do we have to take the Polyjuice Potions?” he asked and Harry noticed that he wrinkled his nose. They definitely had taken this before.

“Yes, Mr. Lupin. You might have realized that someone in your group looks a lot like one of my current students and the other two are also quite recognizable. We have to do this until we find a better way.” She explained.

“Isn’t there some magic that we can use to hide our appearances?” James asked curious.

“Yes. However, it is not available and taught for fifth year students.” McGonagall said strictly, handed each one a flask and gestured them to finally take a sip of the potion. Once they did, they transformed into unknown people. Harry thought to himself, that the hairs for the potions were probably taken from muggles. That way, they could look like no ones.

Before the head teacher left, she turned to the blonde boy, who was once Remus Lupin. “What is your name?” she asked in a stern voice.

“Richard Limus, Professor. I’m a transfer from Beauxbatons.” He answered rather quickly.

McGonagall turned to a red head, who was bit bigger than the James, Harry met before. “And your name?”

“Julian Pott… Podmore”, he said, trying to hide a smile, but completely failing. However, McGonagalls look wiped the smile immediately from his face.

Before she could say something to the boy with short, silver hair, he answered her still unasked question: “Simon Boot, Professor. At your service.”

Now it was McGonagall’s time to try and hide a smile. She definitely handled it better than James did.

“So, you will continue your education in this time line. All your professors will be notified and will not answer any questions concerning your future in any way. During your free time, you will spend it either with any of those three” she gestured at Hermione, Ron and Harry, “or in my office, trying to rebuild the time turner. Are we clear?”

The marauders nodded silently and McGonagall gave them a room in the dormitories. The door was locked, so that they couldn’t just wander off and talk to just anybody. “Before you go into the Great Hall for breakfast tomorrow morning, you will report in my office – I’m sure someone will take you there.”

She sighed as she turned to leave, but stopped once more and eyed the marauders. “Where is Peter Pettigrew?” she asked. Harry had to fight his nerves not to clutch his fist and he could feel the eyes of Hermione on him. Just for a few seconds, then everything seemed to go back to normal.

“He was waiting at the corner, where…” realizing that they hadn’t actually heard Harry’s first name, James just stared at the man who had the same last name as he had. “Where he came from, when Remus ran at us. I don’t think he traveled with us.”

“At least someone was smart” McGonagall commented before she and Slughorn left the Common Room.

“Hey!” three voices called out. Harry just shook his head slightly and grinned at Ron.

Ron stepped forward and crossed his arms over his chest. “So, you better go to bed!” he said as if he was the older brother of all three of them.

Hermione chuckled and stood up. “By the way, I’m Hermione. This is Ron” she gestured toward the red head. “And Harry.” Harry felt three eyes on him immediately.

James looked at him curiously. “And why do you have the same last name, I have?” he asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “No questions about the future! Did you forget already?” he asked with a smirk.

Sirius started to laugh and Remus grinned. James just shook his head. “Okay, Mr. Potter” he said. “So where do we sleep?”


	2. Breakfast Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James, Sirius and Remus get an update on why they landed in the future and spend their breakfast with the Golden Trio figuring out what is going on with Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, I did not expect all those kudos. Thank you so much! I'm really having fun with this story! I hope you still like it!

The next morning, while everyone assembled in the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry, Ron and Hermione brought the marauders to the office of the head teacher. Once they entered, Harry could see two people inside. McGonagall sat at her desk, on the other side, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic. He stood up, when he saw Harry and greeted him blissfully. 

“Harry! How are you doing? Everything going as planned?”

Harry laughed and pointed to the marauders. “I don’t think this was planned.”

Shacklebolt smiled and greeted the rest of the Golden Trio, before turning to young James, Remus and Sirius. “You three are in quite the mess” he commented.

McGonagall nodded, introduced Shacklebolt only by his last name, not his title as the Minister, and showed them the small, pointed object that fell out of the Time Turner last night. “This is the stabilizer. Without it, you could literally travel throughout history uncontrolled. It must have been loose, before you took it from wherever you took it. To be honest, you’re quite lucky you’ve landed here and Mr. Potter here recognized you and brought me into this.”

Harry could have sworn that the three time travelers had gotten even paler and also rested their eyes on him.

“But can you fix it?” Remus asked quietly. McGonagall looked at the Minister who smiled.

“I’m quite certain, we can fix it. The only problem would be the time it’ll take.” Shacklebolt seemed to see the tense facial expressions of the marauders, because he continued to explain what he’d meant. “It will take us at least two months. Then, we have to test it, so that we’re not sending you somewhere wrong or so you’re not dying upon arriving.”

“Yeah, this is not helping”, murmured James and Harry could see Sirius slowly shaking his head. So he interrupted the Minister at once, before he could freak them out entirely.

“Thank you Mr. Shacklebolt, I’m sure they’ll understand the rest.”

The Minister laughed shortly. “What I’m trying to say is that it might take us about three months until we can safely send you back to your time” he concluded.

McGonagall handed each marauder a time table for their individual studies and years and sent them to breakfast. The group walked rather quietly towards the Great Hall and stopped before reaching it.

“I can’t believe it! Three months?! That’s January!” James exhaled and shook his head.

“Oh, you can count!” commented Sirius with a grin on his face. At the almost furious face of James, he added “Oh common, at least I don’t have to go home for Christmas.” Harry rolled his eyes and turned to the marauders.

“First of all, he said three months. But maybe they’ll be able to do it faster. Secondly, they’re going to send you back to the exact point in time, when you disappeared. That’s how Time Turners works.” Harry could see how Ron tried to hide a smile.

“Since when do you have faith in the them?” he asked grinning, clearly talking about the ministry. Harry rolled his eyes once more. He wasn’t able to answer, as Sirius stared at him in shock, his voice so loud, he was almost yelling: “Are you telling me, we have to do the Midterm exams twice?!”

Without another comment, Harry entered the Great Hall. It had remained pretty much the same, four long tables for the students, one table at the front for the professors and right next to it, the hourglasses with all the house points. The only thing that seemed to visibly confuse the new arrivals was that there seemed to be no clear house tables. In fact, all the colors were pretty much at every table. Harry, Ron and Hermione guided the marauders to the third table and sat down on the opposite of them.

“You should know that Hogwarts is promoting house unity, so you can basically sit wherever you want. The tables do still belong to a specific house, but if you have friends in other houses, you can sit at their table. Right now, we have Ravenclaw” Harry gestured behind himself to the table at the end. “Gryffindor” he tapped twice on the table they were sitting at. “Slytherin and Hufflepuff” he pointed to the tables behind the time travelers. They nodded.

“Anything else we should know?” asked Remus before he added, “for example what happened in the mentioned war?”

Harry shook his head and Hermione presented her future – and at the same time past – professor with a strict look, she had perfected over time. However, it was Harry who answered. “No chance. Also, if you ask any of the other students, I will literally have to kill you."

His father and friends grew quiet, obviously trying to figure out if Harry was joking. His facial expression stayed the same, so they didn’t dare ask more questions about the war.

James looked at him curiously and pointed towards his face. “One question, I would like to have answered: Why do you have scars all over your face? Are you like Moony?” He basically whispered the last part.

Harry laughed, but before he had time to answer, another voice behind him started talking.

“Who are you that you don’t know Harry Potter?! He’s the most famous wizard to ever have lived!” was the comment which was at the same time sneering and sarcastic. The blonde wizard responsible for it sat down next to Harry and had a wide grin spread over his face.

“Malfoy, sometimes I’m not sure whether you’re still mocking me or you’re helping me in some weird way” Harry answered and he couldn’t help but grin. When they had started their eighth year, Malfoy had apologized for everything. To Harry, Ron and Hermione and everyone else he had hurt in the last seven years. They had called it truce, since there was literally no need to fight anymore. So they had decided to start anew and see where it was heading.

“The answer is, C – all of the above” Malfoy grinned. “Oh, but I’m not kidding. Every child, every old, white haired wizard knows your name. Now even more that before! You know” he leaned in to tell the oblivious transfer students why. “Potter, here, actually killed the Dark…”

“Okay! Thank you, Malfoy. No need to explain any further”, Harry interrupted someone the second time in only the last hour and shook his head.

“The Savior, Ladies and Gentlemen, too humble for his own good” Malfoy mocked and took a piece of toast.

“Did you actually want something or did you just want to sit here and make fun of Harry?” Ron asked Malfoy and frowned.

“Yes, I do actually. But I wanted something from Potter” he answered suddenly very honest and without any sarcasm in his voice. Harry could abruptly feel everyone’s eyes on him. He saw how Sirius and Remus had initially looked at James, before realizing that in this time line, 'Potter' actually meant Harry.

“How can I help you?” Harry tried his best to be polite as he looked over to the Slytherin. After the war had ended, he had let himself go a bit. However, even with his longer, unkempt hair and the white shirt that wasn’t tucked in, he still looked very handsome. Harry quickly looked away, but saw a small smirk on his future godfather’s face.

“Actually, I need some help in Defense. Everyone can already conjure a Patronus and I need to get back into the game!”

Harry chuckled. “I’m pretty sure you were never ‘in the game’ with DADA.”

“Ha Ha”, muttered Malfoy and raised one eyebrow. “Potter, if you could teach Longbottom how to conjure a Patronus, I should be able to do this as well.”

“Hey!” the thin man who sat diagonally to Malfoy had clearly heard him. The blonde wizard grinned.

“Tell me, it was easy for Potter here, to teach you and I will take back what I just said.”

“But it was easy…” Harry tried to save the situation. But Neville’s answer drowned out his response.

“Okay, don’t look at me. I was quite the challenge” Neville laughed. “Harry will not have that many problems with you as he had with me!”

Harry rubbed his temples. “Okay Malfoy. Meet me by the Room of Requirement. Today, after… I don’t know – sixth period?”

Malfoy nodded and stood up. “See you around, scar face.”

“Later, Ferret” Harry grinned, while Malfoy rolled his eyes excessively.

“Scar face? Ferret? You are even worse at nicknames than we are! I mean, Moony is so crystal clear…” Sirius started.

Before he could get into any more details about the names they’d given each other, the first bell rang and breakfast disappeared. Hermione leaned over the table and asked them quietly “What is your first class?”

Harry’s father looked at the time table, McGonagall had given them. “Potions” he sighed. “I hate this. Why did we steal this damn Time Turner and landed ourselves in the future?!”

Sirius just nodded and Remus looked at both of them in an I-told-you-so kind of way. Ron snatched the paper from the table in front of Sirius and looked at it. “I’m going to wait for you after third period in front of the Transfiguration class room.”

“Great. So know we even get our own baby sitter” murmured Sirius and stared disapprovingly down to his hands.

“Maybe that way you’ll learn not to steal something that is broken” answered Hermione in an almost first-year-at-Hogwarts-kind of way.


	3. A Minute of your Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's lunch time and the marauders meet with the Golden Trio again. They're still a little quiet and observe everything.

Harry was surprised to notice that after third period, his father and friends followed Ron and Hermione into the Great Hall without any complaint. However, Harry had seen their time tables and he remembered that they just had a double Transfiguration and McGonagall had probably insisted in teaching them some more even though they had a free period.

They sat down, Ron and Hermione next to Harry, the marauders on the opposite side of the table. Before anyone could even attempt so say something, Luna and Ginny dropped down next to Harry.

“So, I’ve heard you are new here? How do you like Hogwarts?” Ginny asked the transfer students and looked around, assessing the Great Hall as if she was going to write a piece about it.

Remus pressed his lips together, but James answered anyway. “It’s quite nice here. But I don’t think schools look that different to each other.”

“You’re saying that Beauxbatons is the same?” asked Luna in her dreamy voice and smiled at the three young men.

“No – I... I think …” James seemed to realize that he had buried himself neck deep into problems and didn’t find a way to get out of it. He glanced over to Remus, who sighed quietly.

“I’m pretty sure he means the studying, the lessons, time tables, dormitories. Things like that” Remus explained. Harry grinned. So this is how they got out of trouble: letting Remus explain what happened.

“Oh, I’m sure” Luna answered. She looked around and leaned in over the table. “Besides, I’m sure that your school also has Nargles, right?”

The marauders looked surprised, but Luna and Ginny waved and travelled to the other end, where more seventh year students were discussing the best way to get out of double potions in the afternoon so loudly, that Harry could see Slughorn scowling at them every once in a while.

“Okay, so what are Nargles?” Sirius asked frowning.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. “Nobody except her knows.”

James and Remus chuckled and looked down the table, while Sirius just shook his head.

Harry put down his fork and pulled out a book from his satchel and placed it onto the table.

“Hey! Who are you?!” Ron yelled out in surprise and stared at the book about Defense Against the Dark Arts that laid next to Harry’s empty plate.

Harry grinned. “I’m everyone’s worst nightmare of a teacher!” Not just Ron and Hermione looked at him in surprise, but all of the marauders did as well.

“Aren’t you a bit young – and also still in school – to be a teacher?” James asked curiously.

Harry nodded in agreement and smiled quickly. “I am. But I did tell McGonagall that I didn’t want to continue my dream of becoming an Auror. I have had my fill of dark wizards for this and another life time.”

Hermione and Ron nodded. Harry did see that Ron didn’t agree with all of it, since he was probably going to continue his way to become an Auror. Sirius was just about to open his mouth, almost certainly to ask what he meant by dark wizards, when Hermione simply raised one eyebrow at him and shut him up completely.

“Okay, but what does this have to do with being the worst teacher?” Ron asked and looked at the book.

“Well, McGonagall offered me the post of DADA professor” Harry said completely failing at hiding the wide smile across his face.

Hermione and Ron stared at him, mouth wide open and big eyes.

“You are joking, right?” Ron asked in disbelieve. Hermione threw both arms around Harry and hugged him tightly, while Ron looked at the abandoned and forgotten food on his plate, clearly lost in thought.

Harry laughed and placed a hand on his book. “Well, even I know you shouldn’t become a teacher… or professor shortly out of Hogwarts, so I told her that I’d accept in two years, if she still wanted me to teach at Hogwarts then.”

“And what are you going to do in these two years?” Hermione asked her eyes meticulous on her friend. Before Harry had time to answer, the bell rang once more. Harry’s two best friends jumped up and waved to go to their classroom, while he got up slower.

“I’ll bring you to yours” he said to the marauders. James, Remus and Sirius got up as well and walked out the Great Hall with him. They left the castle, to walk over to the greenhouses. Surprisingly, none of the marauders said or asked anything on their way out. Only once they reached the greenhouse and were standing behind the big crowd of fifth year Hogwarts students from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, that James apparently couldn’t hold back the question any longer.

“How can you suddenly not want to become an Auror anymore? It’s the most amazing job that ever existed! Hunting wizards that broke the law, putting them away for good! What’s not to like?!” he said with a dreamy voice. Harry had at the same time a sad and happy feeling in his stomach. This was what his father liked to do, but it was also going to be his death sentence.

Theoretically, he could tell him to not go into this direction, to find hackwork and stay there for the rest of his life. That way, he would still have a father, when they travelled back in time. But he kept his mouth shut. If his father changed time, he would have never had the opportunity to grow as he did. And yes, it damn hurt to know what fate had in store for those young and happy time travelers, but maybe this was what he, Harry, needed: To meet his father and live with him for three months. Maybe that way, he could finally accept that it was okay, that it had to happen like this.

“Well” Harry started slowly. He needed to think about how he could phrase this so he wouldn’t spill any secrets. “Let’s just say, that McGonagall has a good reason for asking me to become DADA professor” he smiled.

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Good answer. You at the same time explained everything and nothing!”

Harry nodded and grinned. “That was my plan.”

The door of the greenhouse opened and Sprout welcomed her students inside. Harry heard her saying something about Chinese Chomping Cabbage, when she closed the door. He turned around and walked to the library. Normally, he wouldn’t spend his free periods in the library, at least not that early into the year, but now, he wanted to find a book about Time Turners or just anything that could help him understand the situation at hand.

Harry knew that his father wasn’t the nicest person. He was probably just well-behaved, because he didn’t know what was going on. But history stays the same: His father was only going to change in two years, when he finally started dating his mother. Sirius as well, the story of his ignorance was well-known. Harry thought that out of the three Remus behaved more like himself. But that could also be, because he had known Professor Lupin for quite some time, even before he knew that Sirius wasn’t trying to kill him, but the rat. In a way, Harry was happy that Pettigrew didn’t travel to the future with the rest. He wasn’t sure, if he could have pulled himself together and not accidentally (or not really accidental) killed him in his sleep.

It was history. Set in stone. Nothing could change what was supposed to happen. And Harry knew that in the end, everything was going to work out. Yes, there were a few bumps in the road and he could have tried to smoothen his way. However, maybe he needed those bumps to get him further. There was no telling what would happen, if his father and friends knew the entire story about what would happen to them and to Harry.

The library was fairly empty. A few of Harry’s classmates were sitting around a table, quietly discussing an essay for Charms and at the back; he could hear two bickering students, who clearly didn’t hear the bell for the second time.

He browsed the books in the T Section, hoping to find something about Time Turners. He was just about to give up, when he saw a rather big book titled ‘Time Turners and Consequences’. He took it out of the shelf and placed it on the nearest table, to browse the index. Frowning, he opened up the chapter closest to what was going on now - which was definitely not the situation at hand. He skimmed the text, looking for a keyword that would help him, but nothing caught his eye.

“Time Turners?” a voice next to him asked. Harry raised his eyes to see Neville standing next to him frowning. “Didn’t we destroy all of them, back in fifth year?” he wondered, slipped into the chair next to Harry and placed his satchel which was overloaded with books on the table.

“Pretty sure we destroyed every last one” Harry laughed. “But I… I’ve always wanted to read up on what made them… special and stuff like that.”

Neville nodded. “Yeah, I did so as well. During seventh year, I really wished we hadn’t destroyed them so that someone could have travelled back in time and maybe imprisoned Voldemort before he got too strong.”

Harry guffawed. “What?! You just wanted to travel back like twenty five years and throw an innocent young man into Azkaban? I don’t think that would have worked out.”

Neville shook his head. “He sure as hell wasn’t innocent! I would have found a way to make him look suspicious or guilty or something!”

“How come you’re not in Slytherin? Because this is a very Slytherin way to do things.”

Neville shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the drawing in the book, Harry hadn’t noticed yet. “Did you know that every Time Turner has two very distinct features? One of them is the stabilizer and the other is a complete history of everything that ever happened to it, like all the travels are saved in it!”

Harry had to admit, that he knew way too little about these things to help anyone. He looked back at Neville. “Where did you learn all of this?” he asked.

The thin man smiled and pointed to the section U. “It’s a book called ‘Useful Knowledge about Time’. It's more generall, but it does have a very interesting part about time turners and it's easy to read. It doesn’t only explain how they work, but also gives some examples of people traveling in time and what it did to them. Really fascinating!”

“Thanks, Neville” Harry said und closed the book to put it back. Maybe with Neville’s help he could also help the marauders.

He went to get 'Useful Knowledge about Time', and by the time he was back at the table, Neville was buried in books about poisonous plants and how to handle them and had started to write an essay for Herbology.


	4. Time Turners and how to turn Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry learns more about Time Turners and meets Malfoy to help him in DADA.

Harry spent the remaining hour studying ‘Useful Knowledge about Time’ and found out a number of interesting facts. For one, Time Turners had been invented by accident and then banned for another century until someone finally figured out how to work them. The most vital part of any Time Turner was the stabilizer, since it allowed the user to control the item. Over the years, the Ministry had adjusted the time frame in which one could travel, so that you couldn’t accidentally go back centuries and be stuck there (which happened once and it killed the wizard upon arriving in his normal life). Harry frowned at the information he had just read. This meant that even if everything went well… They could mess up the time and die. If the marauders died, then he would never have existed and The Boy Who Lived was going to be Neville.

Not that this mattered to Harry. Neville was just as good a wizard as he had been, and if Voldemort would have come after him, Harry was certain, he could have done it just as well as he had. Additionally, Harry never really wanted to be The Chosen One, but what worried him, was that he could be erased from existence! Just like that. No one would even care, because they had never met him…

During the following two lessons, Harry just couldn’t stop thinking about it. All those unanswered questions and what ifs. What if the Time Turner would never work again? What if they died? What if they’d figure out why he was called ‘The Boy Who Lived’? Or that Peter Pettigrew would betray his parents? What if James and Lily, possessing knowledge they shouldn’t have, decided to make Sirius the Secret Keeper? How would this affect the time line?

Harry rubbed his forehead by the time he had finally thought about the last ‘what if’ question that crossed his mind. The headache that had started an hour ago was still growing. Hermione and Ron had looked at him concerned, but did not ask any questions.

Once the lessons finished and the students spread out for an hour of free time or study time before dinner, Hermione hurried off to get the marauders. Ron had told them that he was going to visit McGonagall’s office to find out more about the status of the Time Turner and what they should be doing and saying or rather not saying to the time travelers.

Harry paced to the seventh-floor corridor, already finding Malfoy waiting at the top of a staircase. He looked even paler than he normally did and Harry realized that he probably should have asked the former Death Eater, if he was okay with the Room of Requirement, seeing as his best mate died in it.

“Sorry” he said as he walked up to Malfoy who frowned at him.

“What for? You’re neither late nor not showing up” he said shrugging his shoulders.

Harry rolled his eyes. “For not thinking. Are you okay here or should we go inside an empty class room?”

Malfoy shook his head. “No need. I’ll be just fine. As long as we’re not going back into that huge room with all kinds of stuff in it.”

“Pretty sure that one doesn’t exist anymore” Harry remarked and concentrated on the D.A. room. He hadn’t used it in quite some time, but he was sure the room knew what he wanted.

After just two lines across the left corridor, a well-known door appeared in the walls and Harry opened it. The insides had changed a bit. It wasn’t as huge as Harry remembered. There were mirrors on one wall, a lot of pillows in the back corner and a mannequin in the middle. The room was lit up by two big lamps of which each had three individual light bulbs.

“Did you just think of something like that a second ago or had you pictured a room like this for the entirety of this day?” Malfoy asked as he looked around curious. Harry laughed and shook his head.

“Not really. I thought maybe you wanted to feel like a part of the D.A. So” he spread out his arms. “Welcome to the D.A.!”

Malfoy frowned and looked at Harry pondering. “That would be much more effective, if I’d actually know what D.A. stands for” he said half jokingly and half serious. “I know you had a secret club, but I never really figured out your name.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Really? Last year, Neville told me that they wrote ‘Dumbledore’s Army, still recruiting’ all over Hogwarts and you’re telling me, you never figured it out?” He chuckled.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. “Okay, yeah. I had my suspicions, but I never really heard anyone confirming it to me. So… Dumbledore’s Army?” he asked. Harry nodded, turned around and put his satchel down on a table at the front. He wasn’t really going to explain why they called themselves Dumbledore’s Army. At least not now.

When Harry turned around he could have sworn that the door was ajar, but closed a second after. Since Malfoy was still standing in front of the mannequin, it didn’t bother him anymore. Maybe he had just left it open and it closed slowly.

“So, you want to get better at conjuring a Patronus?” he asked, as Malfoy put down his own satchel in front of the mirror.

“Not really, no.”

Harry frowned. But before he could ask what was going on, the Slytherin turned to him.

“I want to _learn_ how to conjure a Patronus! I just don’t know how.” Harry rolled his eyes, but Malfoy grinned. “Can you help me?”

Harry sighed and nodded then. “Yeah. So we’ll start with the spell. Do you know it?”

Malfoy seemed to think really hard. A blonde strand of hair fell into his face, covering half of his right eyebrow, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Okay, something with Patronus, right?” he said grinning.

Harry snorted. “You are amazingly smart! Yes, the spell for a Patronus is ‘something Patronus’.” He grinned.

Malfoy crossed his arms over his chest. “Potter, if you’re going to make fun of me, while I’m trying to learn something new, I will ignore our truce and find ways to destroy your last year at Hogwarts. Maybe give you a little Amortentia or how about an aging potion? Or would you like a Noxious Potion; the effects of this one are unknown. That one would be fun to test on a more or less willing subject.”

Harry could feel his cheeks burning and held up his hands in defense. “Okay, okay, sorry Malfoy. Won’t happen again.”

Malfoy gave him a look that likely translated to ‘damn-right-it-won’t’. Harry once again held up his hands and explained the spell.

“You have to say ‘Expecto Patronum’” he said. Malfoy nodded. “Firstly, do you have a very happy memory?”

Malfoy raised his eyebrows. “Why do you want to know, if I have happy memories? I do, by the way, so don’t think I’ll…”

“Calm down, mate!” Harry rolled his eyes and explained his question quickly, before Malfoy could start ranting on about happy memories. “For a Patronus to appear, you need to focus on a happy memory when you say the spell. Otherwise, it’s just words with no meaning.”

The quiet ex Death Eater nodded. Harry looked into his grey eyes and then nodded as well. “Okay. Let’s try this. Do you have a memory in mind?”

Malfoy exhaled a bit nervous and nodded once. “Good” Harry said. “Focus on it. Feel it in your body, feel the warmth, the joy and guide it to your wand. When you’re ready, call out the spell.”

It was quiet for a minute or two, when Malfoy opened his eyes again, took out his wand and yelled “Expecto Patronum!” He stared intently into the air where not even a spark manifested itself. He sank his wand gloomily and wet his lips, before looking at Harry clearly seeking help.

Harry smiled encouraging. “Don’t worry. I would have been surprised, if you’d gotten it the first try. Your memory might not be strong enough to manifest a Patronus. Do you want to tell me, what you were thinking of?”

Malfoy flushed and bit his lower lip. “I… I was thinking of… of Christmas mornings. They were always a lot of fun, when I was smaller.”

Harry nodded and scratched his cheek. “Think about a truly happy memory. I can tell you something from my own experience: The first memory I thought of was my first time flying. It has to be stronger than that. You literally have to feel it inside your bones, vibrating through your body and when you open your eyes, you can basically see it right in front of you!”

Malfoy nodded once again. Harry could see a somewhat concentrated look in his face. Apparently he already had the one and only memory in mind.

“Try it again?” Harry asked.

Without hesitation, Malfoy raised his wand and yelled “Expecto Patronum!” and within a second a few sparks fired from his wand, then suddenly, three big dragonflies appeared and their liquid silvery bodies flew across the room, before dying with a small poof.

Harry smiled. “You've got it!” he said content. “What was the memory?”

Malfoy shook his head. “Sorry, Potter. Some things are personal, even if we’ve called it truce.”

“Fair enough.” Harry commented. “The next think we’re going to do is for you to learn to control it. Right now your Patronus was all over the place. If a Dementor attacks, which I’m pretty certain the chances of that happening are almost zero, you need to be able to make them protect you.” He saw the tired eyes of his student and chuckled. “However, we’re going to do this tomorrow evening. After dinner, are you okay with this?”

Malfoy simply nodded. Before he could leave, however, Harry threw a chocolate bar at him.

“What the…” Malfoy called out.

Harry simply smiled. “Eat that. It’ll help.”

“Did you have to throw that at me, like it’s a bullet meant to kill me?” Malfoy asked frowning.

“Yes. It did feel kind of great” Harry smirked and watched as his student left the room shaking his head, yet, eating the chocolate bar.

When Harry turned around to get his satchel, he heard a noise and turned around, wand drawn and ready to do whatever it took to stay alive. His mind went blank for a few seconds, before he realized that his father was standing in front of him, both hands in the air and with a worried look.

“Sorry, I… That wasn’t supposed to happen” Harry said quickly and put his wand back in his pocket. He could have hit himself. Why did he think he needed to stay alive? The war was over, he wasn’t being hunted anymore, and he could behave like a normal child again or at least a normal teenager.

James simply nodded and asked “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, no, everything’s fine. Sometimes I – uh… it happens. Don’t worry. It’ll go away.” Harry stammered and smiled tired. “Why are you here and not with the rest?”

James looked guilty, but seemingly tried to conceal it with a fake confidence. “I was interested in what you were teaching.”

Harry frowned. “I said Patro… we were talking about it while we ate breakfast! Malfoy wanted to learn how to conjure his own Patronus!”

James smirked. “Yeah. I thought it was something else.”

“What?! And what would that be?”

His father didn’t say another word about what he thought was going to happen, but simply stated that his friends and Harry’s friends were waiting in the Great Hall discussing something or doing homework or whatever.

He left grinning and Harry just shook his head, before grabbing his satchel and following his father down to the Great Hall, where dinner had just appeared. They sat down, next to their friends and didn’t speak of it again.


	5. On Borrowed Time...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's night and the Golden Trio discusses the past.

McGonagall visited the Gryffindor Common Room that evening. While the transfer students were locked inside their dormitory, she held a speech in which she explained the situation of the marauders. Well, not the truth, but something everyone could process.

Apparently, their parents didn’t want them dragged into what was going on with Voldemort, so they moved away before their children could reach their first birthday. They had shielded them from news surrounding the wars, the Battle of Hogwarts and everything that was going on in the last few years. Their parents told the staff that no one was to talk to them about what happened, which also concerned the students. If the transfer students were asking questions, they had to be ignored or referred to Harry, Ron or Hermione.

Harry thought that the head teacher’s monologue actually did answer a few questions, but it also raised a few hundred. Once McGonagall left through the portrait hole, the Golden Trio was flooded with questions on why they could answer questions and how they’d knew them. Luckily, Hermione had a few fairly satisfying answers for all of them. And as soon as the question time had started, it ended again. Everyone started working on their own projects or talking to each other about more or less mattering topics once more.

It didn’t take long, until one after the other travelled to the dormitories to get ready for bed. Meanwhile, Harry sat in his favorite chair staring into the fire. He heard how it got quieter, but didn’t look up. It was the first time that he could think clear. The last time being when he saw the time travelers and had to find a way to get them to safety. He rubbed his forehead and sighed quietly.

It wasn’t hard to see his dead father. Harry never knew him, as far as his memory went back. He never saw how he reacted to everything. The hardest part was to see Sirius and Remus. Knowing that they both died trying to protect him. Sirius was his own fault. If he would have stopped to think and evaluate that Voldemort could show him something made up, Sirius would have never died.

And Remus… He had a baby boy! He got married, for God’s sake! He died just five months ago. His baby boy being a bit older than that, but still! Harry couldn’t save him. All of the boys locked inside their dormitory, at some point in his life, played a very import father role. He loved them all with all of his heart. It was truly heartbreaking to know what he did and seeing their happy, innocent and curious faces about what would happen in the future. They didn’t deserve this! Any of this!

Hermione sat next to his chair on the sofa.”How are you feeling, Harry?” she asked slowly.

Harry leaned back and wiped a single tear of his face with the back of his hand. “I would like to say that I’m fine, but I’m clearly not” he tried joking. Hermione shook her head and gave him a warm smile.

“It’s okay” she said. Then, after seemingly debating if she should mention something, she opened her mouth again. “You can ask Ron, I cried as well, when I found my parents and realized I couldn’t undo what I did.” She smiled weakly and added “They’re fine. I got a healer to take care of them and help recovering all their lost memories.”

Harry nodded, happy for Hermione. He knew she wanted him to feel better. But it didn’t really help. Having obliviated her own parents into forgetting her couldn’t really be compared to his father and friends accidentally travelling to the future where all of them were dead. It didn’t compare to the huge rock that was forming on top of Harry’s heart every time he saw their cheerful faces.

Ron sat onto the little table in front of Harry and Hermione. He hadn’t told them what was going on with the Time Turner, yet. Maybe it could be fixed faster and they were back, before anyone could say something.

“Kingsley is pretty sure, that the Time Turner can be fixed in no time. He said that his best people in the Auror and Unspeakable departments were working together. They might be able to do this in one month!” Ron explained. “McGonagall’s giving them a swift kick in the butt. Let’s hope that’ll work.”

Harry sighed. “Sure. Because that’s what we’re best in: Hoping that something’s working itself out.”

Hermione smiled and Ron chuckled lightly. “Yeah, you’re right. If we’re going to do a true adventure à la us, we should be fixing it ourselves” he said.

Hermione lifted Crookshanks into her lap and petted him softly. It was quiet in the almost empty Common Room. Only the crackling of the fire and the cat’s soft purring made noises.

“We just can’t have a normal school year, can we?” Harry asked after a while and looked between his two best friends. Ron shrugged his shoulders.

“Wouldn’t that be boring?” he smiled. “I mean, we pretty much have this thing figured out: We start school, something happens, we do everything in our power to help or undo it, while still doing all the stuff for school, then summer comes aling and we wait for another catastrophe.”

Hermione laughed. “That does sound like us. And it’s true: It would not be as fun!”

“Did you think, it was fun being chased by Death Eaters?!” Ron’s eyes grew big and he snorted. “I would prefer the spiders in second year!”

“Well, true. Last year wasn’t all that enjoyable” Hermione said, ignoring that Ron’d rather have spiders. Both Harry and Hermione knew this wasn’t the case. “First year was fun.”

Harry smiled softly. “Really!? First year was fun? We met Voldemort! Ron almost sacrificed himself while playing chess!”

Ron shrugged his shoulders again. “I’ll have you know that I’m an excellent chess player. I know how to win!”

“Not the point, Ron. Not the point” Harry grinned. He just couldn’t be mad at them. They went through so much together!

Hermione chuckled. “Okay, stay with me, I’ll tell you why I think first year was fun. Second year wasn’t pleasurable; I was in the Hospital Wing almost all the time. Third year, we found out that Pettigrew was still alive and we couldn’t change Sirius’ fate since that rat escaped. Fourth year…” Hermione looked at Harry and just shrugged her shoulders. “We all know why it wasn’t amusing. Fifth year with Umbridge definitely wasn’t fun. However, the D.A. was amazing! And sixth year, Dumbledore died and the Death Eaters invaded Hogwarts. Not really entertaining.”

“I think seventh year was fun” Ron grinned and rolled his at his own comment. “Okay, yes I see your point. The only year left would be first year.”

“But we were horrible to you” Harry remembered and looked at Hermione, who smiled.

“I can’t really blame you. I could piss off everyone at once, if I tried.”

Ron laughed and hugged her tightly. “Thank you for not trying.”

Harry chuckled. He checked the time and sighed. It was almost midnight. He was so tired that his eyes could have closed at any second. Having so many secrets, so many concerns was just extremely tiring. Maybe tomorrow was a better day.

He got up, saying good night to his best friends. When he climbed up the stairs towards his dorm, he heard a suspicious locking sound, like someone had closed the door. Too tired to look around and see which idiot tried to listen to their conversations, he just sighed loudly and entered his room.


	6. Drastic Times require drastic Measures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's day two and the marauders already find out something about their future.

As the morning sun shone through the windows, Harry Ron and Hermione stood in front of the locked door which just so happened to unlock itself right then. The three rather scowling marauders emerged from the depths of their room and looked a little tired.

“Good morning, everyone” Hermione said. She had always been the one who was awake the earliest. In her opinion, mornings were the best time to study or read a book or two. Even when they were on the run, she was awake early. However, all of them had to learn to get up or to stay up and guard their lives.

“So, what is on our plan today?” a sleepy Sirius asked.

“More lessons, more baby-sitting, more keeping you three away from any information you could get” Hermione simply answered. Harry could see her hiding a grin, when the marauders groaned.

They walked down the corridors and stairs to the Great Hall. It was quite early, so not a lot of students or professors for that matter sat at the tables. However, this suited them just fine. It meant that there was no one trying to slip the three time travelers a newspaper or just some small detail that could in the end tip the scales and change the stream of history.

The Slytherin table was fairly crowded compared to the rest. Around fifteen people sat there, while at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table, there were only around six or seven. The Gryffindor table was completely empty. There were people that got up early in Gryffindor. However, most of them were doing something in the Common Room until some friends woke up and waited to get breakfast together.

The minute Harry sat down, a single owl flew in way too early for the morning post, dropped a letter in front of him and flew away, not before snatching something off the table. Harry frowned and opened the letter carefully.

> _Potter_  
>  We should meet for a status report after lunch. No need to bring the others.  
> \- Professor McGonagall

Harry could feel everyone’s eyes on him and smiled at Ron and Hermione.

“It’s from McGonagall. She wants me to meet her after lunch” He explained and the rest just nodded. He smiled and tried to remember the last time he was summoned to the head teacher’s office. However, he couldn’t remember anything, except that it had to have been Dumbledore.

They ate their breakfast more or less quietly, before a blonde wizard sat down next to Harry once again. As Harry opened his mouth to ask something, Ron’s snarky remark had been faster.

“Don’t you have your own table to sit at?!” He said, pointing towards the Slytherin table. Harry looked over and could see several eyes from the other table on them, all full of hate and rage. Nothing of this seemed to be directed at him personally, but more at Malfoy.

“Yes, I do. But they’d rather kill me, before they let me sit there.”

Harry shook his head. “Why? You’re all in the same house!”

“True, Potter. _But_ they don’t think I’ve paid enough for my crimes” Malfoy explained.

Ron shrugged his shoulders. “If you’re asking me, none of the Slytherin’s paid enough for their crimes. Most of them turned to the dark side as soon as they left the building.”

Malfoy eyed Ron and sighed. “Okay, yes. That was one problem. But they think I’ve gotten away too easy. So, I’m sitting here for now.”

Ron stared at him more confused than angry. Before he could say anything, Hermione smiled. “In that case, welcome to the Gryffindor table.”

“Why thank you” Malfoy said grinning. Harry rolled his eyes and caught Ron doing the exact same.

Everyone was silent, when the Slytherin leaned over to Harry and whispered: “What’s their problem?”

As Harry looked up, he saw three pairs of eyes on him, all of them rather unwelcoming and excoriating, that someone from Slytherin sat at their table twice in a row.

“They probably don’t remember what we’ve told them about house unity” Harry said in a loud voice which snapped all three marauders out of their evil stares and turned to food instead. Harry just shook his head.

“So, where are your friends? I haven’t seen Parkinson, Zabini, Goyle or Nott anywhere.”

Malfoy’s eyes narrowed, but he relaxed as quickly as he had tensed up.

“Well, for your information; Nott wasn’t really my friend and he’s still being trialed, which by the way is just stupid. They should have started with the easier cases and then do the Malfoy case closer to the end. That way, they could have punished me by having to miss vital education if I got free. But that’s their problem” he started.

Harry had to agree with him. It wasn’t really well thought out. However, the Ministry was a mess after the war had ended, still is. They were still trying to figure out who was on the other side of the war and get them out of the Ministry. 

“Gregory transferred to Durmstrang and Blaise had a problem with the administration; they thought he was a Death Eater, when none of his family members actually were, just because he's Slytherin. He’s trying to get back as we speak. And Pansy, well… She wanted to turn you over, before the war even started and is facing some disciplinary actions, prior to her return” Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. “I’m pretty sure she won’t be back this year. Maybe she can finish her education next year.”

“How is it possible that a child wants to turn someone over and is then punished for it?” Remus asked frowning.

“Because this is not the world you know” Hermione answered quickly. Harry could see Malfoy raise his eyebrows. He did, however, not ask any questions. At least not about what this new uninformed student had asked.

“How come, you and Weaslette didn’t get back together? This would have been the story of the century!” He held up his hands and showed Harry the fictional headline. “A Happy End for the Boy Who Lived Twice” He grinned at Harry. “Beautiful, is it not?”

Harry laughed. “No thank you. And I’m pretty sure they don’t call me ‘The Boy Who Lived Twice’. Besides, Ginny already is in a relationship. I don’t think we should get back together, just so you can have your badly thought out headline printed.”

“Ouch!” The Slytherin burst out laughing. “Good point, though.” He stood up and took another piece of toast. “See you tonight after dinner, loser.”

Harry held his hand up for a short wave. “Sure thing, deadbeat.” He could see Malfoy shaking his head, but not saying anything back, as he left the Great Hall.

“Really? You called Malfoy a failure?!” Hermione looked at him like a mother who just heard her baby use a swear word.

“Hey, it’s not like I started it!”

The Great Hall was suddenly buzzing and a huge amount of sleepy and wide awake students filled the room. The Golden Trio got up and left the Great Hall, followed by the marauders. They left the building through the right side door, but stopped when Sirius called out something to Remus.

“Look, mate! You were in the Battle of Hogwarts!”

Harry froze and turned around so quickly, that his glasses almost fell off. How could they have known that Remus was in the Battle of Hogwarts?! They left before the newspapers arrived and before anyone could give them any information.

In that instant, Harry saw what gave Sirius this clue. He hadn’t thought about it, but there was a wall in Hogwarts with all those brave witches and wizards who fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and didn’t survive. They were standing in front of this very wall. Harry saw how Ron got pale as he stared right at the name ‘Fred Weasly’. He started shaking and Hermione dragged him away quickly. Harry turned to his future/past professor and pulled him away as well and as fast as possible. The other followed deep in thought. They hadn’t yet discovered the writing next to the title ‘Brave fighters of the Battle of Hogwarts’ which said ‘in tribute to the fallen ones’. Harry was sure that none of the time travelers had seen the second golden lettering floating in the air.

He had always wanted to know how the wall looked, but never felt the courage to stand in front of it. He knew so many people, all of which fought in a war he was the pivotal element of. If he could have destroyed the Horcrux faster, maybe Snape would still be alive; he could have sacrificed himself earlier and Fred, Tonks, Remus… they all could have survived the war and were back with their families. Harry just felt so damn guilty all the time.

Once they stood outside, Ron seemed to have gained back his control. Hermione stood in front of the marauders.

“Okay, so this was our mistake. No one of us knew the wall would be here and now you have information about your future. ..”

Before Hermione could say something else, Sirius cut her off. “Yes, we know. But I have another question to which I really need an answer: Why is Moony the only one fighting in this war?! Where’s my name?”

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled. He corrected his glasses and looked at Sirius. “This was a mistake. You were not supposed to read this and now that you have, we need to take further measures. All of you need to follow me to the head teacher’s office. Maybe she’s got an idea on what we can do.”

They dragged the marauders around to the front entrance, not risking giving them another look at the tributes. When they knocked and entered McGonagall’s office, she looked surprised to see Harry, but smiled when the marauders entered.

“Ah yes, the professors already made a bet, when this would happen. What did they do?” she asked and nodded slightly.

“Nothing, Professor. It’s rather something we did by accident” Harry admitted.

Her eyes landed on Harry and she frowned. “Alright… In that case, what did they learn about their future?”

Hermione spoke up first. “They learned that Remus Lupin fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.”

McGonagall widened her eyes in shock and was quiet for a moment. She eyed the marauders, who didn’t seem to understand what was going on and nodded then.

“I see. Any other information concerning their future?” she asked. The marauders shook their heads. McGonagall thought for a while and stood up.

“Granger, could you be so nice and get Professor Flitwick? And Weasley, could you please get Professor Slughorn, once more? Please tell him, that we are in need of his special potion, he’ll know what you mean.”

Hermione and Ron left the room and McGonagall sent the three time travelers into another she locked quickly.

“Potter, I do have some bad news concerning your father and friends. The Ministry just owled me this morning, telling me that it was trickier than they thought. Kingsley added at least another month. I really am sorry about this.”

Harry nodded. He knew that McGonagall cared for him and his friends deeply. After all, they really did play a crucial part in ending the war. However, Harry knew that this wasn’t the only reason why she liked them. He could not pinpoint what the other reason was, but he didn’t care about this, anyway.

“How are you doing? Seeing your… past is never easy” she explained.

Harry nodded. “It definitely is not easy. But I’m sure I’ll manage.”

McGonagall nodded. She seemed to wait for a few more words, but Harry kept quiet.

“What do you think about the…” she glanced over to the door, behind which it was unusually quiet. “ _Thing_ we talked about?”

Harry smiled weakly. “Thank you, Professor, I know you mean well. Nevertheless, I really don’t think I’ll be needing… that.”

McGonagall nodded, though Harry could see she wasn’t convinced. At least she didn’t just give him a Mind Healer and told him to get used to it, but actually asked him if he thought he needed one. He was sure he could manage, whatever is was that was haunting him. It sure as hell wasn’t as intimidating as being part Voldemort.

It was quiet for a while, before Hermione got back, Flitwick following every step. He saw the head teacher and sighed.

“That was quicker than I anticipated” he said and took out his wand. McGonagall agreed and wanted to add something, when Ron and Slughorn walked in as well. The Professor was breathing heavily and held a little flask in his hand. Ron was holding two similar, small, round flasks in his hands.

“Next time, I should fly up here” the Potions Professor sighed as soon as he breathed normally again.

“Thank you so much!” McGonagall said and took the three potions. Then she unlocked to door and turned to the Golden Trio. “I need you to wait outside. The magic we’re about to use will be extremely powerful and enter everyone not using said magic. If you don’t want to be able to see anything important about the war anymore, you may stay.”

Ron, Hermione and Harry left the room and waited on the staircase outside. Each one sitting on a different step and in different positions. Harry hadn’t told them, that McGonagall wanted him to see a Mind Healer. Not because he didn’t trust them with the information, but because he knew they would try and convince him to do this.

They just didn’t understand that visiting a Mind Healer could bring up so much old baggage that Harry had stored somewhere safe. He needed to stay in control, to keep his emotions in check. Otherwise, he could be lying on the floor, crying himself to sleep and maybe even worse. He didn’t need the help of just someone to tell him, he had problems. He already knew. And maybe, after time, they would leave and he could go back to a happy place… which he never had and didn’t know he needed.

A few minutes were gone, until the door opened again. Flitwick and Slughorn left the office and McGonagall called the three adults back inside.

“Because we can’t hide everything about the war, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black were under the influence of powerful magic which will make them not see anything concerning the aftermath and all about the war. The potion they'll have to take for three weeks is helping with the side effects, however, if you see anyone acting different, bring them back to my office” she explained.

Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded and McGonagall dismissed them. Not before telling Harry, that he needn’t to visit her after lunch, since she already told him everything she wanted to.


	7. Time hangs heavy on their Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James tries to figure out if they should know everything that happened in their future, or if it was best to just ignore it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is POV James Potter.  
> Have fun.

It was hard, indeed. To have seen the golden lettering that indicated Remus’ death at the Battle of Hogwarts. James had seen it immediately, right after Sirius pointed out, that some of them had fought in the war. And apparently died in it.

It made sense. Seeing his _son_ ’s sad eyes on them. James still felt weird that he travelled to the future where his son attended Hogwarts and an eighth year, he’d never heard of. He didn’t even know who his mother was…

From what he could gather, they were all likely dead at this point in history. Sometimes, when Harry thought no one was looking, his eyes travelled to Sirius and he was obviously heartbroken. You could see it in his actions, even his words somehow. With Remus, it was the same thing. But it was stronger in a different way. James couldn’t figure out how. It was probably, because his death was the most recent of them all.

The Battle of Hogwarts hadn’t been that long ago. The blond wizard this morning said that they were still trialing witches and wizards. Trials actually could take long, but it sounded like it was just the start of it all.

The castle also looked different. Not that it had corridors he didn’t know, but it actually looked newer. There were stonewalls which still smelled like stone and earth. Windows were cleaner and looked new and the floor was cracked at a lot of places. Sometimes, he could see the Professors working on cracks, but it must have been safe for everyone to come back, otherwise they wouldn’t be here.

What was probably the most surprising was how people looked at his son. It changed from person to person. Some were fearful; others thanked him at every turn. Most people wanted him to sign something or greeted him cheerfully.

James could see how Harry didn’t like this at all. He smiled and did what they wanted him to do, but he had this nervous twitch of digging his fingers into his arm, pretty much all the time if he wasn’t around his friends or people he liked. He also realized that Harry didn’t hurt himself when he was doing something he loved, like teaching. 

Although he didn’t know what his son did to make everyone wanting to be his friend, he was incredibly proud. Which was even a weirder feeling – it felt like he was an adult and actually had a son. On the other hand, he did have a child… or was going to have a child…

James sighed. This whole time travel thing was giving him a headache. And now, they heard through the door that it might take longer than three months. He shook his head. How could they be so not careful? Normally, they’d do their prank, get a few detentions and were good to go. This thing went way out of hand.

Not only did it throw them through time, but it also landed them in a world where every one of the marauders was dead. Or at least Sirius, Remus and he were dead. He hadn’t heard anyone use Peter’s name. Not since yesterday. He had looked over to his son and saw him tensing up just at the name of him. Maybe that was a sign that he was dead too…

“Mr. Podmore?!” Rabnott, the Transfiguration Professor, looked at James and raised an eyebrow. “Are you paying attention?” she asked.

James shot up and nodded quickly, he then looked at the board where the spell was written down, to transform a diner plate into a mushroom. He worked silently, but concentrated and still couldn’t manage it at the end.

Once the double Transfiguration was over, they had a free period. None of their baby-sitters were free this time. McGonagall expected them in her office, which obviously didn’t mean they had to go there immediately.

Sirius dragged them to the wall which had Remus’ name on it, but they couldn’t see anything anymore. It was just a wall with some shadows where all the name plates were.

“Well, that is disappointing” Sirius murmured. He turned to some student who just walked by and asked them. “Hey, do you know if the name ‘Sirius Black’ is on this wall?”

Their eyes opened wide, before they hurried off. Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Siri… Simon, we can’t just go around asking people about our identities. McGonagall told us not to and I actually agree with her!”

James had to agree as well. After reading that Remus died in the war, it had jolted him awake. Even knowing that he had a son who was called ‘The Boy Who Lived’ made him worry what it meant for his own destiny. He was sure that he didn’t really want to know. But he kind of did…

“I want to know, why I’m famous! I couldn’t find my name here, but I didn’t have time reading everything, so maybe I fought next to you! Maybe we all did! How amazing would that be?!” He said excited.

“Come on, James…” Sirius started, but Remus cleared his throat loudly. Sirius rolled his eyes. “…Julian, what do you think? Shouldn’t we have the same rights as Re… Richard?”

Before anyone could answer or say something else, the blond wizard, who had been sitting at their table pretty much all the time, showed up and came closer. He was holding three books in his arms and looked like he had been hurrying through the halls to get to another class. When he saw the marauders, he stopped and turned towards them.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

Sirius was just about to ask him about his name, when Remus answered. “Sure. We were just talking here.”

The wizard nodded and eyed each one of them carefully. James was happy that they still drank the Polyjuice Potion, so he couldn’t recognize them. “I heard you were transfers from Beauxbatons. Was it different there?” he asked. James could feel his heart beat in his ears. This was it. He was pretty sure that their identities would be revealed now. He never even had the chance to look at how the French Wizarding School looked like, what classes they offered and everything else.

“Well, to be honest. Our parents kept enthusing over Hogwarts, so we never really liked it there and always wanted to see their school ourselves” Remus explained quickly. The Slytherin wizard nodded again.

“Yes, I understand. It is pretty amazing here. At least now that it’s all quiet and we can have an actual, normal school year” he laughed.

Sirius seemed to have sensed an open door and tried to get inside. “So… what happened that you can have a normal school year, now?”

The blond wizard only smiled. “You know, word around here is that your parents would kill anyone explaining what happened in the war or what caused it, so you have to find out for yourself.” He grinned. “Not that it’ll take you long. You’re sticking to Potter and his friends like some kind of Sticking Charm. People around him are bound to break the rules sometimes and then you’ll find out everything about the _Savior_ ” he said and shrugged his shoulders.

“Why is he called the Savior?” asked Sirius, still actively trying to get at least a small answer.

The blond wizard shook his head. “It’s obvious, is it not? Just think about what ‘savior’ means and you’ve got your answer.” He looked at them and asked then “Do you need any help getting somewhere?”

“No, thank you” James answered. “We were just heading to the headmistress’ office.”

The wizard nodded and walked away. Sirius glared at James. “Why did you have to let him get away? I could have found out something important about my life! We already know something about Remus; he fought in the Battle of Hogwarts. We know something about you; namely that you are horrible at naming your child” he explained as they walked behind Remus to McGonagall’s office. “Now, I want to know something about _my_ life!”

They were snooping around the castle a bit more, but couldn’t find anything different or concerning the war. They did, however, find out that all of the secret entrances to Hogwarts had been barred. So they decided to head back to the headmistress’ office.

In front of the office, a pale, young man sat in a chair and looked at the three marauders. His black hair matched his eyes and his Hogwarts cloak was ripped in some places. James wondered why, but didn't really have time to ask him about it. The door opened the second James decided to ask him, who he was, and two students left the room. They glared at the man, when they walked past him.

McGonagall spotted James, Sirius and Remus. “Oh, you three, please wait outside, while I’ll talk with Montague” she said and closed the door behind this Montague bloke.

“Looks like someone’s in trouble” grinned Sirius right when the door closed. Remus just rolled his eyes and James smiled.

“It’s surprising that it’s not one of us. On the other hand, we didn’t have much time to do pranks, but that must be the times” he said. Remus sat down and buried his face in his hands.

“I just wish that they’d fix this damn time turner so we can go back. I don’t like it here. It’s like tiptoeing around and trying not to destroy our legacy or whatever” he sighed.

James nodded. He had felt it as well. Not just this morning, when he realized that Remus wouldn’t survive the war, but ever since he had met his son. Every decision he’d make in this future could impact his past and prevent him from meeting his future wife and in doing so destroying Harry Potter’s chance for a life.

The marauders were quiet for a few minutes; everyone buried deep in their own thoughts and fears. The door opened again and a vicious looking student exited. He turned away from the marauders, but not before presenting them with an evil look and then strolling down the staircase.

“Okay, he really was angry” Sirius whispered and grinned. James shook his head.

McGonagall called the marauders inside. “And where have you been? We’re almost half an hour in your free period and you decide to show up now?”

Neither Sirius nor James could answer her. This time, even Remus didn’t have an excuse ready. McGonagall nodded.

“I see” she started. “Still trying to find out something about your past, are you?” It wasn’t a real question, but rather a rhetorical one. James knew when her questions turned to those ones.

The head teacher sat them under all of the portraits of the head teachers over history. Two frames were cleared and James remembered that these weren’t there when he was at Hogwarts… or in the past. He assumed that one of the two belonged to Dumbledore, since he was head teacher at his time. But he couldn’t think of anyone who would be the other head teacher.

McGonagall presented them with about ten books all about time travel and Time Turners. “I suggest you’ll start reading up on what brought you here and how you can fix this. Also, please read everything that time travelers have said, it might help you once you’ll get back.”

James sighed, but took a book called ‘Second by Second’. He saw how Sirius grabbed the smallest of them all – it still had about five hundred pages –, which was called ‘The Day I was stuck in’. Remus seemed to gravitate towards the book called ‘Time Turners and Consequences’. James couldn’t remember when they last studied something just because they wanted to. However, this time whatever they read might be helping them once they were back in 1975. At least he hoped so.


	8. It's almost Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malfoy has another DADA training session and back in the Common Room, Harry hears intersting news.

“Concentrate, Malfoy” Harry said for what felt like the eight hundredth time this evening. This time, the blond didn’t even hear him, clearly lost in his own thoughts.

Harry had thought that Malfoy looked distracted ever since he entered the Room of Requirement. He had said the wrong incantations at least four times and even if he called it ‘Patronum’ instead of ‘Patronus’, he couldn’t even conjure one single dimly lit spark. Either the memory he was thinking about yesterday had lost its powers or Malfoy wasn’t working hard enough right now. Harry would have bet on the latter.

He snapped his fingers in front of the Slytherin’s face and got him out of that trance-like state immediately. However, he didn’t seem to be happy about that.

“What?!” Malfoy snarled, his grey eyes stinging right through Harry.

“Tell me what’s going on with you. If you don’t have a clear head, you can’t conjure a Patronus and you’ll never learn how to control them” Harry simply explained.

Malfoy stared at him, first in anger then visibly contemplating whether or not he should tell him the truth.

“It’s none of your business” he said, apparently banning his emotions to the back of his head.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t mind you not telling me. I just want you to try and focus on conjuring a Patronus. Can you please just try it again?”

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. “We’ve been here for almost two hours, Potter. Can’t you just accept that, today, I’ve failed you?!”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Harry shook his head. “Because… all it takes is one person having faith in you and you’ll succeed in no time.”

“So, you’re telling me that you believe in me?” Malfoy asked frowning.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Harry looked baffled. “What do you mean?”

“Why do you have faith in me when all I’ve ever done is cause pain? I've treated you and your friends like shit and in the end I was clearly on the wrong side of history. People keep reminding me to this day. How can you still have faith in me after all of this?”

Harry looked at Malfoy for a while, quietly assessing the former Death Eater. He had already apologized for everything. If he remembered correctly it was on the second day back at Hogwarts. Why would all of his frustrated anger resurface?

“Malfoy, I have already forgiven you for everything. As have Hermione and Ron and everyone else you’d apologized to. Don’t beat yourself up over this. We were children. Fighting a war meant for adults. When you had the chance to get on Voldemort’s good side by bringing us to him, you chose not to. I know you think it was nothing, but without that sacrifice, we wouldn’t have gone undetected for so long. So yes, ever since this day I’ve had faith in you.”

After his mini-speech, both men were quiet. Harry didn’t know what else to say and hoped that it was enough to convince his student not to give up too easily. He couldn’t figure out what was going on behind Malfoy’s frown. However, he was clearly thinking hard.

Then out of a sudden, the blond nodded, looked at his wand and held it up. He breathed in heavily and closed his eyes. Probably looking for a memory. A second after that, he opened them again and conjured a beautiful Patronus. He held his three dragonflies steady for a while, before redirecting them towards the mannequin in the middle of the classroom. One dragonfly swirled around him instead of following the others, but Harry was incredibly proud.

As they disappeared, Harry couldn’t help but grin widely at his former nemesis. “Not bad” he smiled.

“I forgot my Patronus was dragonflies. I mean, can it be more humiliating?!” Malfoy complained. “I don’t ever want to be seen in public casting a Patronus that looks like three oversized sticks with eyes.”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think dragonflies are that stupid. For what it’s worth, Aberforth Dumbledore’s Patronus is a goat.”

Malfoy shook his head. “That man has a serious problem with goats.”

“Let’s not get started on that” Harry agreed. “I think we’ve had enough for today. We’ve been here for hours.” He said and winked at his student. Malfoy just rolled his eyes and grabbed his stuff.

Before he could leave, Harry once again threw a chocolate bar at the Slytherin. He stood still, looking at it on the floor and then turned around slowly.

“I’m getting the feeling that this chocolate represents some kind of repressed feelings towards me. Is there anything you want to tell me?” he asked quietly.

Harry shook his head, a little flushed. “You’re reading too much into something I just like doing. You know, instead of curses and other dangerous things, I’m now throwing chocolate. You should be happy about free stuff” he grinned.

Malfoy rolled his eyes slightly and grabbed the chocolate bar from the ground. “Next time, throw it so I can catch it!”

Harry laughed. “Now, where’s the fun in that?!”

The other wizard left without another word and Harry packed up his stuff and left the Room of Requirement, heading to the Gryffindor tower. He heard a suspicious sound behind him and stopped. Without turning around, he addressed his father who was clearly following him.

“You know, I always thought that all of you should be amazing at spying on people and following them around. But it turns out; all of you are quite shit at this thing” he explained to the empty hall in front of him.

His father stepped next to him, the Polyjuice Potion about to stop working. His hair was now pretty much the same as Harry’s. Luckily, nothing else had changed yet.

“Well, maybe I get better in sixth year. Or seventh year, who knows” James started. “Wait, _do_ you know?”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Sorry, no. I don’t know every detail of your life… I’m pretty sure there are things you don’t want your child to know” he added, realizing that the first sentence sounded exactly as it was going to end: He didn’t know every detail, because his father wasn’t around to tell him. He pointed to the black hair showing through the red strands. “Also, I’d advise you to take another gulp of the Polyjuice Potion.”

“That thing is disgusting” James pointed out and grimaced.

Harry nodded. “I know. But don’t tell anyone” he grinned.

James looked at him in surprise. Apparently, it was enough to convince him, though, and he took another sip of the potion inside his flask. It reminded Harry a lot of his fourth year. They walked to the Gryffindor tower and as they entered all hell seemed to have broken loose.

Neville was jumping of the table, cheering, Ron and Hermione danced around the coffee table, which stood closer to the fire anyone would have liked and Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were setting off small fireworks they had undoubtedly bought from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. James had snuck off to the room, where Remus and Sirius were hiding. Harry just stood at the portrait hole, looking at the riot going on, until Ginny came up to him.

“Where have you been? You’ve missed the most interesting news for all eighth year students!” she announced.

“What was the news?” Harry asked.

Before Ginny could say something, Ron had seen Harry and stormed over. “We get a new Common Room and dormitories. McGonagall was here and said they had been working on this ever since they rebuilt the castle, but there was a complication and they could only just finish it now.”

“Wait, so Gryffindor gets a new Common Room? Why?” Harry was beyond confused. Nothing seemed wrong with the old one, why did they have to transfer to a new one?

“No, Harry” Hermione said grinning. She had followed Ron and shook her head over his confusing statement. “The eighth year is getting a Common Room together. All houses move in there in their final year. Or right now, it's the eighth year. McGonogall said that they wanted to really promote house unity and how can you do it better than letting everyone from all different houses move into one?”

Harry narrowed his eyes. So, all students from the eighth year were going to move into one Common Room and dormitory? That could get interesting.

“So, are we moving tonight, or when?” he inquired.

Hermione smiled. “No, they’re still working on the finishing touches. We can move in in two days. Tomorrow they’re going to publish the new dormitory situations, because they want two different houses in one dormitory, and also the rules for all eighth year students.”

Harry nodded. “Sure, okay. But what happens to the transfers?” he pondered.

He could see how Hermione’s face fell. Ron looked at him in a similar way.

“Shit” she remembered. “I didn’t even think about that!”

“Well, we can’t just let them here. Everyone’ll tell them what they want to hear!” Ron elaborated. Harry just nodded.

“How about, we talk to McGonagall tomorrow morning and ask her what we can do about it” Harry suggested. Hermione agreed and turned to the chaos that was continuing while they were talking.

She sighed. “I don’t think we’re getting any sleep tonight.” Harry laughed and shook his head. 

Everyone was talking loudly and some were almost screaming. They talked about the dormitories, the new friends, the rivalries. About what rules they might get and what they might be able to do now. Some theorized on who would be in the same dormitory, others on who would break first.

Oh, and then there were the fireworks. No one could sleep while they were being set off. It seemed like they were looking for sleepy people, because every time, someone’s head almost fell on the table, they exploded right in front of their face.

“You know, I would have liked to say that today was the calm before the storm, but this clearly…” Harry’s voice got drowned out by another set of fireworks, some loud cheering, and dancing furniture. He had no idea who charmed the latter, because this could have been something Hermione could have done, but… really?

“If this is calm” Ron screamed against the rising tumult. “I don’t want to know what the storm looks like!”


	9. Only Time can tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's having a bad nightmare.

Everything burned. The smell of old grass, coal and burnt flesh was in the air. People were screaming, shouting. Curses and counter curses, broken glass and a castle, literally in ruins. Blood on the floor, on walls. Dead people. Everywhere. Green flashes, red flashes, golden flashes. The only goal was to survive the night.

Harry fought in the middle of the battle. He knew it was _the_ freaking battle. He knew he was dreaming, but his subconscious mind didn’t seem to realize this. His whole body was trembling; he could feel the adrenalin pouring through his body. His heart was beating so fast, it was painfully reminding him that he was still alive. It felt as if his heart was trying to get out of his body. His hand was bleeding, one side of his glasses was gone and his clothes were torn. There was no end in sight. No bigger evil to fight. At least not one he could see.

Harry suddenly stood on the field alone. All the people were gone – or under some kind of spell, so he couldn’t see them. He felt a dangerous presence around him. Somewhere. Very close.

All at once, there he was. Harry realized immediately that this wasn’t just his normal nightmare. The normal one never showed the people fighting. It showed the once who were dead. Those people, whose life ended, because he decided to have them killed…

This dream was way worse. Because it not only showed a living person, it showed the one he hated the most. Tom Marvolo Riddle. Voldemort. The Dark Lord. He Who Must Not Be Named. Or whatever names he liked and disliked. He stood there, alive. More powerful than ever. This time, it wasn’t Harry who had possessed the Elder Wand, but Voldemort.

The dark wizard pointed his wand at him and laughed utterly evil. “What are you going to do, Harry? Not so powerful now, are you?!” he announced.

Harry tried to force his hand up. Pain shot through his right arm. He winced and looked down. The bleeding was serious; he was basically standing in a puddle of his own blood by now.

“I’m not going to be defeated by a fake dream version of Voldemort” he stated, trying to convince his mind that all of this wasn’t real. Nothing could happen to him right now. No matter what this stupid fake dream version of Voldemort would do…

“Dream?” the villain laughed again, his face changing to look more like the incarnation of the devil. “No, no, Harry. This is all real. I’d hate for you to miss the show. You know which show… The one where you’ll go insane over me. The man who wanted to kill you, but died instead, yet could still make you lose your mind.”

He smiled complacently yet still evil. He came even closer. Dangerously close. Even though he was about twenty feet away. “And so, we’ll start with the following torment: Avada Kedavra!”

Green light burst out of his wand and, in a weird flashback, threw Harry into the forest, lying on the floor. He breathed in sharply, pain pouring through his entire body. The smell of dirty earth, metallic blood and wood surrounded him, robbing him of all his senses. He was bleeding much more now, his insides hurt and he felt like all of his life force had been drained from him. This time, there was no help, no second change, no future. He was going to die. Right then, right there. With a loud scream, he launched himself out of the dream and into bed.

The light was on and glared brightly right into his eyes. He dragged his hand over his face with all the strength he could gather. He had been sweating heavily and his temperature had undoubtedly increased. His friends were looking at him rather concerned; he could feel their eyes on him. Since the light was already on, he assumed that they had been standing there, trying to get him to wake up for a while.

The door opened and Ron rushed in, Hermione right behind him. “Oh, you’re awake!” he said exhaling. Harry just nodded and placed his hands on his eyes again.

“Harry, what’s going on?” Hermione asked, settling down on the side of his bed.

“Nightmares” Harry simply answered. He didn’t feel strong enough to even talk in full sentences. “Nothing bad.”

Hermione gave him a strict look. “Harry, you having nightmares is totally normal by now. This, on the other hand, even scared Ron! That’s not normal! You need to find someone to whom you can speak about them.”

Harry nodded tired. He wasn’t going to talk about this. Especially not, when McGonagall had almost the same argument as Hermione had. If she would have found out that the head teacher had the same opinion, they would have given him a Mind Healer right this second. He was still convinced that he could do this alone. It would take a while, certainly, but he didn’t need some psycho analyst to tell him that maybe his dream meant that even now, he was tormented by Voldemort, after his death. In addition, if he was seeing a Mind Healer, it felt like Voldemort would win: he had gone insane…

Harry could feel how Hermione stood up and heard her leave the room. His other roommates were getting back into their beds. Ron stood next to him, staring at the mess that was Harry Potter.

“You need to get this under control, mate. You do realize that those bloody dreams are getting more and more frequent?” he asked, clearly worried.

“Yeah” that was all Harry could say. He was still trembling and had to fight the urge to start crying. Not silently one tear at the time kind of crying, but ugly sobbing crying.

“Maybe you need to see someone. Maybe they can help!” Ron repeated what Hermione and McGonagall had already suggested. Harry pressed his eyelids closed, not willing to give Ron a reason to go running to the headmistress and requesting immediate psychological help for him.

“Sure thing, Ron” Harry pressed out of his mouth, trying to make it sound as if he was tired, when in reality, he was barely able to keep his voice from becoming a shaky mess.

“We should talk about it” Ron said and was just going to add more, when Dean yelled through his closed curtains.

“Just switch off the freaking lights and shut up. I’m trying to sleep over here!”

Harry was overwhelmingly happy for this comment, as Ron murmured something under his breath and the lights went off. He strolled back to his bed, climbed in it and whished everyone in the room a good night’s rest – at least what was left of it.

With the lights being out, Harry felt safe, letting some of his emotions out. Not all of them, but just enough that he could control himself again. Hot tears were streaming down his face, his breath was shaky and he inhaled as quietly as he could. The others were probably still awake. He had to be careful to not being caught.

As the night went on, Harry let his emotions out and then fell asleep once again. He was having his normal nightmare when he fell asleep, the one he could stomach. Or had to learn how to stomach.

However, the next morning didn’t feel any better. While everybody else got up way to easy, Harry remained in bed for a couple of minutes. He saw Ron heading out for the shower and later Dean and Seamus. Pulling his blanket over his head, he decided to wait for as long as his friends would let him hide.

When the blanket was pulled away, though, it wasn’t Hermione nor Ron, but his father James standing in the dormitory.

“What?!” Harry asked tired and definitely not ready to face his young father.

“So, what’s going on?” James asked with concern.

“Nothing” Harry growled. He closed his eyes again.

There was an idea forming in his head that was the start of a tremendous chaos. If he would tell his father, what was going on with him, the man could then do everything in his power to save his life. His parents wouldn’t die, he would grow up in a fairly normal family and the final battle would never incorporate him, the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. In addition, he would never have the nightmare of Voldemort ever again.

Harry opened his mouth, just about to tell him, when Hermione walked in and glared at the marauder.

“Outside, now!” she ordered and James followed instantly. Harry sat up.

Hermione knew. She knew what he was about to do. And she was right. Once again. He shouldn’t feel tempted telling his father what was going on in his future. There was still hope that things would turn out right in the end. However, Harry had no hope left today. It was going to be the worst day he’d had in a while.

She just stood there, eyeing him a little frustrated and angry. “I think Ron and I should bring the marauders to McGonagall. We can’t risk them abusing your unstable state of mind to get information about their future.”

He simply nodded. Of course she was right. As she left, she smiled at him encouraging and walked through the door. Before she closed it, she said “See you at breakfast, yeah?” She didn’t wait to hear an answer.

Harry rubbed his forehead. “I’m just a mess” he whispered to himself and got up. He slowly got ready and climbed down the steps to the Great Hall, where he sat down and ate just a few bites of what was presented.

“Merlin’s balls, Potter. You look like shit!” Someone said next to him. Harry didn’t have to look up to know that it was Malfoy.

He didn’t even have to strength to say something back at that snarky comment. That apparently just encouraged the other wizard to mock him some more.

“I’m pretty sure even the first years can now see Thestrals seeing as though you look like you just died somewhere between getting up and breakfast” he grinned. 

“Malfoy, I’m really not in the mood for all of this” Harry said, rubbing his temples. He could feel his little breakfast almost coming back up. “Don’t you have other people to torture?”

The Slytherin narrowed his eyes and seemingly assessed Harry carefully. “What’s going on, Potter?” he asked without any sarcasm. Harry looked up and raised his eyebrows.

“Why do you care? Don’t you want to make more fun of me?”

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not that much fun, if you’re not willing to defend yourself. So, dear Golden Boy, what’s bothering you? And where are your friends, who should be taking care of you?”

“McGonagall” Harry simply answered. This could mean anything, which was exactly what he wanted it to mean.

Absentmindedly as he was today, he took another toast and broke it into pieces on his plate. When he looked back at Malfoy, he caught him looking rather worried.

“Are you getting sick?” he asked and he seemingly wanted to check Harry’s temperature on his forehead, but stopped in the middle of his action, as he seemed to remember where they were. “You should go and see Madam Pomfrey.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah, sure. Next thing you’re going to tell me is that I have to see a Mind Healer, to get all those damn nightmares out of my mind” he scowled.

That seemed to have answered a lot of questions for Malfoy, as he just nodded and grabbed some toast for himself as well. “Nightmares, huh? Anything else?”

Harry let his forehead sink on the table and was now rubbing the back of his neck with both hands. “Oh, I don’t know. How about the pressure of not knowing what to do after Hogwarts, or that my father’s…” he stopped abruptly. No! No, no, no! He almost slipped up. Almost told Malfoy that his father travelled into the future and was now currently staying in the Gryffindor tower. He hoped that the other wizard hadn’t heard it.

“Your father?” Malfoy destroyed all hope. “What the hell is going on with you?”

Harry had to think quickly. He sat back up and let his eyes wander over the students at breakfast. He caught some nasty looks directed at Malfoy, but most were too busy eating. This didn’t help, so he looked back at the Slytherin. He was still facing him and seemed… even more worried than before?

“Well…” Harry started slowly. _Think_ , he thought. _Think, idiot, think!_ “You know… Halloween is… coming closer… and I… I…” Harry couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Luckily, he was saved by his friends and the marauders entering the Great Hall. Ron was furious, when he saw Malfoy at the table right next to Harry.

“Go back to Slytherin, you pillock” he barked.

Malfoy just shook his head. “No, thank you. But I will be going now. Have fun, everyone.”

Hermione and Ron sat down, keeping Harry in the middle. While Hermione scolded Ron for his somewhat rude comment toward the Slytherin, Harry saw his father looking at him rather curious.

“Are you okay?” he asked, quietly enough that Hermione and Ron didn’t hear him, but loudly enough for Harry to understand.

“Sure.”

James clearly didn’t buy it, but he also didn’t ask. He simply took some toast and drank the tea. His friends followed suit and by that time, Hermione had stopped arguing with Ron and they also started their breakfast.

“Just so you know” Hermione started. “ _They_ ’ll transfer with us to the eighth year tower. McGonagall will be giving a speech tomorrow, where she’s going to explain that they got new information about the war and in light of the fact that their parents had complained, she’ll be quartering them with us. This will also make their inevitable disappearance easier to explain. She can tell the student body that their parents took them back to France or wherever, because we were talking too much.”

Harry nodded. Yes, everything made sense. Except one thing and his brain kept going back to it: Was Malfoy actually worried about him? It looked so sincere…

What was going on?


	10. How to pass Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dormitories have been assigned and Harry hides from a stalker.

“Oh, you must be kidding me!” Ron shouted and clutched his fists.

Almost all Gryffindors were standing in front of the Great Hall, where McGonagall had hung up a parchment that showed the dormitory division early into lunch. On the top of the parchment was a little text by the headmistress.

> _By now, all the dormitories are numbered 1 to 8. Once you move in, you can give them a name agreed upon each student staying there. You may, however, also choose to stay in a numbered room. We are here to promote house unity, therefore every dormitory will be resident to at least two different houses. The dormitories are inhabited by the following students:_

The parchment continued to recite all the eighth year students who decided to come back and in which dormitory they were put in.

> Dormitory 1:  
>  \- Hanna Abbott  
>  \- Susan Bones  
>  \- Hermione Granger  
>  \- Parvati Patil
> 
> Dormitory 2:  
>  \- Millicent Bulstrode  
>  \- Fay Dunbar  
>  \- Megan Jones  
>  \- Lily Moon
> 
> Dormitory 3:  
>  \- Mandy Brocklehurst  
>  \- Daphne Greengrass  
>  \- Padma Patil  
>  \- Sophie Rogers
> 
> Dormitory 4:  
>  \- Sue Li  
>  \- Lisa Turpin  
>  \- Sally Smith
> 
> Dormitory 5:  
>  \- Justin Finch-Fletschley  
>  \- Seamus Finnigan  
>  \- Neville Longbottom  
>  \- Ernest Macmillan
> 
> Dormitory 6:  
>  \- Draco Malfoy  
>  \- Harry Potter  
>  \- Ronald Weasley  
>  \- Blaise Zabini
> 
> Dormitory 7:  
>  \- Terry Boot  
>  \- Michael Corner  
>  \- Anthony Goldstein  
>  \- Dean Thomas
> 
> Dormitory 8:  
>  \- Simon Boot  
>  \- Richard Limus  
>  \- Julian Podmore

And there it was. Dormitory 6. Harry together with Ron and then the Slytherins. Looking at the parchment, Harry was pretty sure that Zabini was to be expected back in two days. It would be weird to write down a name of a student that wasn’t going to show up.

However, to say that this dormitory situation hadn’t destroyed the rest of the afternoon was quite an understatement.

“What?” Dean called out. “Why am I the only one not from Ravenclaw in my dormitory?” He rolled his eyes. Apparently he was as happy with the dormitory situations as Ron was. Which was in itself funny, given that they would share a room with a former Death Eater and Dean only had Ravenclaws.

“Want to change?” Ron asked and pointed to his own dormitory.

Dean grinned. “No chance. Have fun with Malfoy.”

“No!” Ron yelled. “That just sounds weird!”

Everyone standing around the parchment started to laugh. Harry shook his head. Even though they had liked the house unity thing, the dormitory situation got a little bit out of hand. Why couldn’t they just stay in their current formation?

Harry knew that his roommates were accustomed to him screaming and crying out loud in the middle of the night. Who knew what would happen, if Malfoy caught him while he was having a bad nightmare. At least, he had Ron. His best friend knew what to do in some situations… or just get Hermione.

“I quite like my group” Hermione smiled. “Ravenclaw! Maybe they’ll be a little more accepting of my constant learning.”

“No, Hermione” Ron quickly spoke up. “Don’t let us rot in the dark; I’m not going to survive this without you!”

Harry, even though he was still feeling like shit, chuckled quietly. Ron was so true. If Hermione only ever wanted to study with her new dormitory friends, they were not going to pass their last year. Or at least with a lot of difficulties.

“Don’t worry, Ron” Hermione grinned. “As if I was going to forget about my two best friends!” She winked at Ron.

“Hey, why are those fifth year in the eighth year tower?” Neville spotted dormitory eight. Harry froze; he had forgotten the reason Hermione had mentioned. Ron, however, seemed to invent his own story.

“Oh, I think it’s something I did”, he said grinning. Harry frowned at his words. “I might have told them a little bit about the war and their parents found out, so they put them in the eighth year tower.”

Neville raised his eyebrows. “That makes no sense…”

Ron shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think they told them who said what. McGonagall must have just assumed that a lower year told them something. So that’s why they’re with us now.”

Hermione glared at him. “Yes, and she also told us that we were still not allowed to say anything about the war!” The rest of the Gryffindors shook their heads ever so slightly.

Harry rubbed his forehead. “Okay then, we better go to our classes” he reminded them and walked towards the Transfiguration classroom. Most of the others followed him.

The next few lessons were quite alright, everyone seemed to be distracted by the new dormitories, but other than that it was okay. If Harry had to be honest, it wasn’t all that bad. He still had his best friend in his new dormitory, Malfoy had his. So, the two parties could stay away from each other at ease.

When the last classes finished, Harry felt like he needed some fresh air to breath – maybe even go flying… He decided to go outside first and if he needed more, he would grab his broom next and go flying right then. As he walked by some second years, a sassy, blonde Ravenclaw witch called out to him and seemed to want an autograph from him.

Since he was standing at the top of the stairs, towards the dungeons, he fled down there as quickly as he could. He was feeling a little better than this morning, but not good enough to go and interact with some obsessed fans. And he knew she was obsessed, since she tried to follow him around even when she should be in class. At least McGonagall found out and kept a close eye on her.

In the dungeons, Harry quickly turned left, so he wouldn’t accidentally walk the path to the Slytherin’s Common Room. He turned another corner and stood in front of the wall he was looking for.

Suddenly, a figure appeared next to him. Harry jumped and took out his wand. He was not ready to be the nice Savior. Not now anyway. The figure walked even closer to him and he could recognize Malfoy. Harry wasn’t sure whether or not this was worse.

Before anyone could say anything, the Ravenclaw girl called out and Harry heard steps coming closer. He quickly placed his wand in the middle of the wall on a weird looking brick and a door appeared. Malfoy was just standing there, seemingly wondering what he was about to do. The door opened and Harry grabbed his former nemesis and disappeared into the room, before closing the vanishing door right when he heard the footsteps turning around the corner.

He panted hard and slid down the wall, no sooner than the door had closed. There was no denying it, he felt absolutely awful. With a low groan, he buried his face in his hands and just waited there for a while.

It wasn’t until the other person in this room talked, that he realized he wasn’t alone.

“Well, this certainly wasn't the way I had imagined this conversation going” Malfoy said. Harry looked up a little confused and caught a glimpse of Malfoy’s grin, before the Slytherin looked around the room. “Lumos” he whispered softly.

Harry, inspired by Malfoy’s action, also took in the room, shining softly in the light of Malfoy’s wand. It seemed to be a smaller classroom, having only three tables in each row and two rows in total. At the front was a rusty, old blackboard and next to that one stood a table so old it was about to fall apart any moment now. The floor was dusty and the only light sources were cracks in the wall behind the teacher’s desk. One side of the classroom was crammed with old books about Potions and Dark Arts and the other side had rotten ingredients and broken caldrons.

“Charming” Malfoy nodded, before he turned back to Harry. “I was actually about to tell you, that given the fact that you don’t seem to feel so well, we probably shouldn’t do any lessons today.” Malfoy coughed and shivered as he walked into an old and abandoned spider net.

Harry couldn’t help but grin. “If you say so, sure.” He watched as the other young man repeatedly tried and failed to get the spider webs out of his hair.

“I hate this place! Why did you have to drag me here and how do you even know that such a place exists?!” Malfoy complained.

Harry got up and marched over to the slightly taller man and pushed the arms down that were just making a mess with the spider webs. “Here, let me” he said and started to pick the webs out of his hair. While he was working on Malfoy’s hair, he explained why he brought him here. “I was trying to hide down here, until that girl would stop following me and I knew about the room here, because of the… a map that I saw once. So, when I went here, suddenly you wanted to talk to me and I thought it would look less suspicious, if nobody would stand in the corridor. If I would have let you stay outside, she would have realized something was up in case you would have just stared at this wall.”

Malfoy had stopped struggling under Harry’s hands and apparently just decided to let happen whatever it was Harry was doing. Once Harry had stopped talking, they both stood quiet for a while, Harry working on getting the Slytherin’s hair clean, the other man possibly deep in thought.

“Thank you” Malfoy said quietly, when Harry stopped. He ran his fingers through his hairs and smiled slightly. It was a beautiful, small smile. Harry shrugged his shoulders and tried to appear nonchalant.

“No worries.”

It was quiet again in the old classroom. Harry wished he could hear anything from outside just to make sure that the girl had long gone, but the wall kept everything inside. Which also meant that you could hear the other man breathing and moving around in the small space. It made his heart race so much faster. He was sure that in this quiet area, the Slytherin would almost certainly hear his heartbeat.

“Why were you running from that girl anyway?” Malfoy broke through the silence.

Harry sighed and leaned against a wall, looking up to the chandelier with burnt down candles. “She always wants to talk to me or get me to sign something for friends or family.”

“Oh, yeah. Must be hard to be the Savior” Malfoy commented. Harry raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly.

“I mean, I would gladly change our places. I’m fed up with people thinking that I’m this Savior, The Golden Boy and every other nickname they give me…”

Harry saw from the corner of his eyes how Malfoy struggled not to say anything. He sighed and turned to look at the Slytherin. “Say it.”

“Okay, but you made me” Malfoy grinned. “The Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, The Boy Who Lived Twice, some people are now calling you The Man Who Lived.”

Harry rolled his eyes and starred at the Dark Arts books, covered in two inches of dust. He scratched the bridge of his nose and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You know, some people would give anything to be in your place” Malfoy said almost inaudibly. Harry looked up and frowned.

“Are you one of them?”

Malfoy just shook his head. However, he still seemed to decide to explain why not. “I’ve seen what _he_ could do, what power he had. I would not have wanted to be the one fighting him.”

Harry nodded absentmindedly. It was even weirder here. They both talked and it seemed to be so natural. They seemed to connect over the weirdest of topics. Harry had to admit, however, that both their childhoods weren’t normal. They both had to suffer, because of Voldemort.

After a while, Harry looked back at Malfoy. “Well, since we’re already here, why don’t you try another Patronus. Time would go by much faster then.”

Malfoy grinned. “Yes, Master” he said and bowed down. Harry just shook his head, but couldn’t resist a grin.

“Just give me a nice Patronus” he commanded and Malfoy immediately obeyed.

The rest of the time was spent with the Slytherin training his three sticks with eyes, so that they would stay together and would actually do what he wanted them to do. This also helped Harry, getting the nightmares out of his mind and focusing on his student. At the end of their little training session, Malfoy could actually get them to fly around the room in control.

By the time dinner was ready, Harry hat met with his friends and the marauders in front of the Great Hall, while Malfoy went back into his Common Room to get a book. Harry didn’t believe him one bit, because why would you need a book for dinner – if your name wasn’t Hermione Granger. But he didn’t say anything. Maybe he just didn’t want to be seen with the Golden Trio the third time in a row.

Harry also realized that this whole time they’d spent together, he never brought up the new dormitories. This was weird as well, Harry would have bet on him complaining and whining about a shared dorm. Maybe the Slytherin had the same idea, he had: the Slytherins would form one side, the Gryffindors the other and no one had to be harmed.


	11. Some Time around Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry can't sleep and wanders around Hogwarts at night, where he finds another restless soul.

Harry felt a wave of sadness rush over him as he entered his dormitory. This was their last night in the Gryffindor tower. No one actually knew where the eighth year tower was located; Harry even tried examining the map, but it didn’t show anything. Hermione also questioned if it really was a tower or just a room next to the Great Hall. All in all, it remained a secret until they would move in.

This evening was the first evening that the marauders started to behave like them again. Harry assumed that they had recovered from the culture shock of travelling through time and space… well, actually only time… James and Sirius had started whispering and from what Harry heard they were planning on swapping the normal chalk with some sort of rubber, synthetic kind of chalk that looked and felt like the normal one. Harry didn’t even question where they would get this other thing, but decided to let them roam free, since they couldn’t go back, they should at least have some fun here.

The dismal looking dormitory was almost empty now. All the trunks were packed; even though there were four beds and four trunks inside the dormitory, it wasn’t as it used to be. It had lost all the characteristics of being lived in. The next time, people would live in here there would be some scared first years. Harry smiled when he remembered the time he first saw the castle. Majestically, sitting enthroned on a hill by the lake. It looked so magical, so full of hope and a promise of a better life.

And what did it offer Harry in reality? A safe place? He was attacked by Voldemort first year. Acceptance, a promise that he wasn’t a freak? Second year, everyone believed him to be the heir of Slytherin. That wasn’t really what he needed either.

Harry continued to try and think of something that Hogwarts gave him, but every time he came up with something positive, there were more than a few negative things. After fourth year, he couldn’t even come up with some good things.

He lay in his bed and sighed quietly. Great. He didn’t want to get all reflective, but moving around apparently makes you question everything. At least, he wasn’t leaving yet and his best friend was moving with him.

As if Ron was waiting for Harry to think about him, he strolled into the room and threw himself onto the bed. “Do you think we’re going to survive the next few months?”

Harry grinned and turned his head slightly, so he could look at Ron. “I would say that depends what you mean. If you mean the N.E.W.T.s than definitely not and if you mean the new dormitory situation, I would bet that there won’t be any problems.”

Ron frowned. “You‘d bet? Who are you? Malfoy’s in our dorm!”

“So?”

“He’s a Death Eater!”

Harry shook his head, as best as it was possible, laying on the bed. “Former. Former Death Eater.”

He heard Ron make a small disapproving sound. Frowning, Harry sat up and looked over to his best friend. “I thought you forgave him for what he did to you?”

Ron shrugged his shoulders. “I did. But I won’t forgive him for being on the dark side!”

“He… He couldn’t help it! It’s not his fault that he was born into a family that valued blood-status and dark magic” Harry wasn’t even sure why he defended his former nemesis. Probably because he felt a weird connection with the Slytherin. He was born into a disaster as well: his adoptive family never being able to love him and protect him scarred him deeper than he wanted to admit.

“What’s going on with you?” Ron sat up as well, frowning at Harry. “You’re weird ever since you started hanging out with that Ferret!”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Ron, we should be done with our stupid rivalry. There’s nothing left to fight over, we literally won the war. Why can’t you just accept that maybe Malfoy grew up, just as we did while we were on the run?”

“Because _we were on the run_! We _had_ to grow up! We had to fight for our survival! What did that prat ever do? He lived a glorious life…”

“With Voldemort right under his nose…” Harry interrupted Ron and within a second Ron turned pale. Maybe it was the mention of the Dark Lord’s name or the aftermath of still being scared to call out his name or that he finally realized that Malfoy living with that dark wizard wasn’t probably that easy. Ron was quiet and lay back on his back, staring up to the ceiling.

Harry followed his example and they stayed quiet until Seamus und Dean entered, talking loudly about Quidditch strategies to outsmart a seeker. Without saying another word, they all got ready for bed and within a few moments everything was quiet again.

Even though the light was out and he could hear the deep and calm breaths of his roommates, Harry couldn’t fall asleep. He stared at the ceiling and sighed. Why couldn’t he just have a normal year? It would have been boring, most certainly, but he just wanted to let go of all the guilt, all the pain. Now, with his father and friends, the pain was even higher. To see their enthusiasm about everything was hurting him. The new dormitory situation wasn’t that much different. He hated it.

Harry sat up, grabbed his glasses and cloak and left the room. He needed to get his mind back into a normal, blank state, so he could at least attempt to fall asleep. The cloak felt smooth and a little cold, but he wore it and snuck out of the Gryffindor tower, looking for a place to calm his mind.

The place that attracted the young man turned out to be the wall of fallen fighters. This certainly wasn’t what Harry had wanted; how could this possibly help him getting over the pain?! In the flickering lights of the candles, the golden plates glimmered and the names engraved into them were more or less readable.

Harry walked closer and touched Remus’ plate. He followed the beautiful cursive lettering until the end, and then walked to the left, looking for the other names. Weirdly enough, this actually helped to ease his mind a little. He saw Tonk’s name, Fred and Colin Creevey, Vincent Crabbe even got a name plate, as did Snape. Though both of them were on the top where people couldn’t really see the names.

“Out of bed, Potter?” he heard his nemesis say quietly behind him. It didn’t have the normal sneer in it. Harry looked down, making sure he was still wearing his cloak and turned to Malfoy frowning. This situation was almost funny, they both seemed to gravitate towards each other. Not just now, but basically ever since their first year. Malfoy stalking him (or them), when they went and visited Hagrid with his baby dragon.

“How can you see me?”

Malfoy laughed quietly. It made Harry’s stomach tingle a little. “Please, Potter. If you’re wearing an Invisibility Cloak, at least try to keep all of your limps under it. Otherwise, you could as well just take it off.”

Harry smiled a little und pulled his cloak down. “Better?”

“Yes, because now, we could both get in trouble, being out here after curfew” Malfoy grinned. Harry shook his head a little.

“Well then, why are you out of bed after curfew?” he asked quietly.

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders and tried (and failed) to look nonchalant. “I didn’t even go back tonight.”

Harry frowned. “What do you mean?”

“The password changed and no one wanted to tell me the new one.”

Harry gave a surprised laugh. What was going on in the Slytherin Common Room and why appeared everyone against Malfoy? He had to admit that a few years back, this information would have made his day, but now it weirdly annoyed him that someone would do that to him.

“So what do you plan on doing?” he asked after a few moments.

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. “To be perfectly honest: I have no freaking idea. I planned on roaming the castle, but it seems a little dangerous with all the Professors and so.”

Harry nodded. He just wanted to answer, when a little “Meow” broke their moment. As if Mrs. Norris had been waiting for the mention of ‘and so’ to inform the two students out of bed that they were a few seconds away from detention.

Acting on his intuition once more, he pulled Malfoy close to him and threw his cloak over them both. They stood back at the wall and waited for Filch to keep up with his cat. It was better to keep quiet than to try and run away, in which case Filch would hear their steps. Harry felt his heart racing so fast that everyone walking by should have heard it. He breathed flat and could feel Malfoy nervously move from one foot to the other.

“Stop it” he demanded, murmuring quietly. The Slytherin held his breath immediately and stared at Harry in both terror and something he couldn’t identify. But he stopped moving.

A second later, the Hogwarts caretaker appeared and asked Mrs. Norris what she saw. Being a cat, she couldn’t possibly answer, but she stared at the spot where Malfoy and Harry were hiding. Both young men were holding their breath. Filch apparently didn’t see anything, after he inspected the wall through the Invisibility Cloak and picked up his old cat.

“The war must have destroyed your sanity a little” he whispered lovingly and walked outside.

Neither Harry nor Malfoy dared to breathe for a few moments and then Harry led out a sigh and fell to his knees. The other young man slid down the wall as well and leaned at it, closing his eyes. They sat there both quietly thinking, hiding under the cloak.

Harry finally turned to Malfoy. “Why were you so afraid of Filch? It’s not like our first time walking through the castle grounds at night.”

Malfoy had his face buried in his hands and when he looked up, he was even paler than before, he trembled badly and his greyish eyes were open in fear. He closed them again and tried to get his breath under control.

“It just… it reminded me…” he whispered almost inaudibly. Harry nodded. He didn’t know what Malfoy went through in his own home, but living with Voldemort for how ever long it was sure as hell would give him some kind of nightmare and fear.

Within a few minutes, Malfoy had gotten his composure back and he leaned against the wall facing the golden names with almost a mask on. His facial features didn’t give away anything. Harry looked at the names as well.

“We’re some kind of broken people” he said in a hushed voice. On his left, he could feel Malfoy nodding slightly.

“I wouldn’t wish all of this upon my worst enemy” agreed the Slytherin. Harry smirked a little.

“I thought I was your enemy.”

Malfoy laughed softly. Harry was glad to see some color back in his face. The young man had also almost lost his mask of neutral emotions, which Harry was even happier to see. If there was something he couldn’t stand it was not seeing the emotions of other people.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m standing behind my younger self and all of this schoolyard rivalry bullshit. That was fun, but I never counted you as my enemy” Malfoy explained.

Harry was a little surprised and he felt a little bit guilty, once again. When he yelled his Sectumsempra curse, he was ready to kill – even though he hadn’t known what kind of spell it was. In his mind, he and Malfoy had more than a schoolyard rivalry. It had something of a kill or be killed kind of feel to it.

“You know, you’re doing that thing again” Malfoy interrupted Harry’s train of thoughts.

“What?”

Instead of explaining what he apparently did, Malfoy pulled Harry’s hand away from his arm. He had clawed the nails of his fingers into it. When he looked down, he could see the imprints, a few seconds short of starting to bleed.

“I didn’t even realize” Harry mumbled.

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. “You’re doing it almost constantly. Not in class, though. I’m thinking it’s got something to do with being distracted, so you’re not having time for whatever it is that causes this.”

Harry bit his lower lip and shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t even realize that Malfoy apparently just admitted to some sort of light stalking – why would he observe him even in class? However, Harry’s mind was racing to the only conclusion he could find.

“It's the guilt” he whispered almost inaudibly.

Malfoy had still heard him. He nodded slightly and leaned his head back at the wall. Harry followed his example. The cold wall against his head slowed down his thoughts and he just sat there in silence. His former nemesis being equally as quiet.

“We’re making an odd pair, wouldn’t you say so?” Malfoy asked after a few minutes went by.

Harry nodded. This discussion had been emotionally draining and now all he wanted to do was go back into the Gryffindor tower, find his bed and sleep until lunch the next day. Yet, he had the feeling that he shouldn’t just up and leave. At least not now.

“If someone would have told me that one day I’d be sitting on the floor, hiding under my cloak with you, Malfoy, I probably would have sent them to St. Mungo’s” Harry admitted, happy to see a wide grin spread across the Slytherin’s face.

“Same here.”

Harry stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes. If he’d be sitting here with Ron, he would have let his head fall down on Ron’s shoulders, no questions asked, but with Malfoy he wasn’t sure what to do. Luckily, the man next to him had seen his suppressed sign of fatigue.

“You should go to bed” he suggested.

Harry shook his head. “What about you? You can’t just stay awake for two days in a row. Maybe you should go to McGonagall and tell her what happened?”

Malfoy sighed. “I don’t think so. I was going to try the Room of Requirement, maybe I’ll find a bed there.”

Harry grinned. “Smart.” He wouldn’t have thought about the room at first. Maybe if he’d grown tired, he would have remembered. However, he didn't have much faith in himself. So he probably would have hidden under a table in a classroom and slept there.

“Thank you, Potter. I’ll take every compliment I can get” the Slytherin grinned. “Let’s get you to your bed and hope you can sleep well.”

Harry frowned. “I thought I’d bring you to the Room of Requirement, so that nobody sees you out of bed and then…”

“Not happening, Potter” the Slytherin interrupted Harry’s offer. “You already did more than enough for me. So, go to bed and I’ll see you tomorrow in Potions.”

With these words, Malfoy slipped out under the cloak, got up and walked to the stairs without turning around. Harry sat there puzzled for a moment, before getting up and walking to his dorm. It must be way past midnight and Harry hoped for a few more quiet hours of sleep.


	12. A good Time will be had by All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, they move into their new eighth year tower!

Moving day. Harry closed his eyes again and blocked the light out with his hand. Even though he had gotten a few hours of sleep, they had been woken up by some house elves under the order of the headmistress. Apparently, they had to move into their new Common Room and dormitory right after breakfast. The house elves took their trunks and vanished with a loud crack. Harry’d just had enough time to grab something normal to wear and to throw his pajamas in. Then, they were gone.

Tired, he walked down the steps towards the Common Room. It was Saturday, so almost all the younger years were sleeping for a few more hours. Only two, devoted students were sitting by the fire, books open, quills and parchment ready. They didn’t seem to hear anything. One of them could have certainly been a young Hermione Granger.

As Harry reached the landing, a door opened up on the stairs to his right and the three time travelers walked out. Sirius looked a little confused and when he saw Harry, he jumped the last few steps down.

“Hey Harry, a little question” he started. “There was a house elf in our room that looked like the one from where I live… Is Kreacher working in Hogwarts now?”

Harry froze, but just for a millisecond. Not wanting to give Sirius information about the future, he tried to come up with a believable answer. However, the longer it would take, the clearer it would be to his godfather that Kreacher was in fact working at Hogwarts. And the question after that would be… why? None of his family would give him up and Harry knew that Sirius would also never let him out of Grimmauld Place. So he reacted upon his very first thought.

“You guys have house elves?” he asked and hoped that it sounded like a real question. He made a mental note to tell Kreacher not to interact with Sirius. Technically speaking, Sirius was Kreachers owner and he could order him to tell the truth about what happened the last few years and that could destroy their whole secrecy around this topic.

Sirius frowned and turned back to his friends. James shrugged his shoulders, while Remus grinned slightly.

“I told you it might just be a house elf that looks like yours.”

Hearing Remus’ words, Sirius rolled his eyes and mumbled something that sounded something like “I know my house elf”, but didn’t go deeper into the matter. The rest of the marauders came down into the Common Room and started asking Harry questions about where he had been for the last few days and why they had to hang out with Hermione and Ron.

“Not that there’s something wrong with them” said James. “But I mean it’s not every day that I can talk with my son from my future!”

Harry chuckled lightly. “To be honest; you spend all your free time with McGonagall, so it’s not really surprising that we can’t talk that much” Harry tried to get the discussion in another direction. Otherwise, he had to talk about nightmares and what he would have liked to do yesterday morning when his father tried to find out what was wrong with him.

“Okay” James acknowledged. “However, is it wrong, if I want to spend time with you?” he asked looking extremely innocent. Harry frowned. He couldn’t get rid of the feeling that they were planning something. Maybe even something bad.

“Nothing wrong with it – if everything was normal. This whole situation isn’t normal, so… let me think about it and talk to some _reasonable_ adults and I’ll give you an answer for this” he bargained and turned around to get to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Before he could reach the portrait hole, Hermione walked down the stairs and Harry turned around, made a little sign with his head towards the marauders and headed out. Hermione had clearly understood him, as she started talking to the time travelers and distracted them from whatever he was up to.

Harry slipped around a corner and looked around. The corridor was deserted, so he summoned Kreacher who appeared with a crack.

“Master?” he asked. Harry nodded slightly.

He had no idea who to tell the house elf that his former master, who didn’t really treat him fairly, was now living in this time line… He also had no idea if Kreacher was supposed to serve him, since Sirius was a Black and therefore the actual master.

“Kreacher, this morning, you were in a Gryffindor dormitory, right?” Harry started out a little off topic.

Kreacher nodded. “Yes, is Master telling me not to do this again?”

“No, no” Harry shook his head and smiled a little. “But did you see something strange?”

The house elf was quiet for a while, before answering. “I saw Master Sirius. But alive and young.”

Harry nodded and wondered whether or not Kreacher was quiet, because he was wondering, if Harry would believe him or cut off his head due to old age and maybe hallucinations. Before he could interrogate his house elf any more, Kreacher started talking on his own.

“Master Sirius tried to get me talking. But he died and my current Master is Harry Potter.”

Harry was surprised. So apparently, it worked itself out. “Kreacher, listen, I have to give you an order, just so they can’t outsmart you. Are you okay with it?”

The house elf thought for a while, but nodded then. Harry thanked him sincerely and ordered the elf not to tell any of the marauders what happened since 1975 and not to listen to any orders given by his former master, Sirius Black. Harry could see the impact it had on Kreacher and bit his lower lip. Before the elf disappeared, Harry had a good idea for lifting the order, so that their relationship could improve instead of reduce again.

“This order will stop, once they’ll travel back to 1975” he ordered and Harry saw how Kreacher looked a little happier than before.

The elf nodded and disappeared just as the marauders, Hermione and Ron walked around the corner, almost crashing into him.

“That was him!” Sirius called out. “I saw him! It’s Kreacher! Kreacher!” he yelled at the empty corridor.

Hermione looked at Harry in shock, her eyes big. Harry grinned and shook his head slightly, so that none of the marauders would see it. Ron started laughing franticly, which drew all the marauder’s attention to him.

“You look like you’ve lost your mind!” Ron laughed. Then, having seen the interaction between his best friends, he doubled down. “In addition, if there really was a house elf called Kreacher and you were its master, he would appear. Since you’ve been calling out and he’s not appearing… he probably wasn’t here.”

Sirius pondered for a moment, but seemingly decided that Ron must be right. He shrugged his shoulders and marched to the Great Hall. The marauders followed, even though Remus looked back at the Golden Trio frowning.

“That was a close call!” Harry said quietly.

“Why didn’t he appear?” Hermione whispered as they walked behind the marauders.

“I ordered him not to” Harry explained. Hermione frowned, but didn’t say anything. Instead, it was Ron who started to ask the question.

“I thought you didn’t want to order Kreacher around?”

“I don’t want to. But it felt safer that way” Harry clarified. He also told them about how the order would lift once they were gone. Hermione seemed to be okay with it and Ron understood as well.

They entered the Great Hall, where all of the eighth year students were already sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Without thinking too much of it, Harry led them to the others and the marauders sat down at that table as well. Even though they seemed to have contemplated for a while and then placed themselves a few feet away from the older students.

Harry caught a glimpse of Malfoy and was happy to see that he looked as if he had slept for at least a few hours. In that moment, the Slytherin looked over and smiled so slightly that Harry almost didn’t catch it. In return, he nodded once and turned his attention to the breakfast appearing in front of them.

McGonagall entered the Great Hall, as soon as their breakfast disappeared. She calmly walked to the head of the table and addressed the entire eighth year (and the time travelers).

“We apologize for the delay; your eighth year Common Room and dormitory should have been finished when your year started. However, they’re done now and ready for you to move in. Follow me, please” she explained and turned around.

Everyone stood up and followed her out of the Great Hall. Harry felt a little like in first year, following McGonagall through the castle to a yet unknown place. They climbed up the stairs to the third floor, where they walked towards the Charms corridor. Harry remembered the time they had been running from Filch in first year and ended up with Fluffy; they had to run through this very corridor.

Just as he remembered the three-headed dog, he realized where the new dormitory and Common Room were going to be. Both, Ron and Hermione, realized it at the very same time, they looked at each other knowingly. Harry was surprised to realize that it didn’t bother him, even though that place was where he first met Voldemort. As long as his dormitory wasn’t in that room or resembled it too much it would be okay.

In fact, McGonagall lead them exactly there. As she opened the wooden door, Harry half expected it to look like he remembered. A three-headed dog sleeping in the middle, some music playing in the background and a trapdoor next to the dog.

Of course it didn’t look like that. Once they entered, they stood on a balcony, looking down into a very cozy Common Room. The house colors of one house had been painted on one wall, so that all the house colors were present.

A huge fireplace dominated the opposite wall and several comfortable looking armchairs and a huge sofa had been placed there. On the right stood four tables, each equipped with three chairs and ink, above it hovered a small library. The left side was clustered with all kinds of different chairs around a long, wooden coffee table. It looked a little like the balcony on which they were standing right now. There were also five armchairs and at the balustrade sat an inviting couch.

McGonagall walked down the stairs on the left to reach the Common Room floor. The students followed; everyone in awe of their new accommodations. Harry had wondered where the dormitories would be, but as he reached the ground he saw two doors which had been hiding under the balcony. The gallery had also been hiding some magical drawings under it. It showed a snitch flying around the Quidditch Pitch.

As soon as everyone stopped looking around and turned towards their headmistress, she started to explain what was going on. “This is your new Common Room. You won’t need a password; there is a magical force field around it that is connected to the student records and only grants _you_ access. The dormitory, which you might have already realized are there” she pointed towards the two doors under the gallery. “The girl’s dormitory is on the left, boy’s on the right. Once you agree on a name, the numbers on each door will automatically change.”

Dean und Seamus started walking towards the right door, when McGonagall took out another piece of parchment. Harry had to bite back a laugh, either the two Gryffindors were incredibly tired or they wanted to show the head teacher that they had enough of her speech and wanted to enjoy their new house united room.

“These are the new rules for all of you” she looked at the marauders. “Well, except for you.” She shooed the three younger boys into their room and opened the parchment. “You are allowed to visit Hogsmeade any time you want. Curfew has been extended to Midnight on weekends and eleven pm during the week. There will not be a special table in the Great Hall for you, so please seat yourself the way you usually do.”

McGonagall turned around to leave, but stopped again. Harry saw Dean roll his eyes and look towards the dormitory door curiously. In a way, Harry understood. He also wanted to see the new dorm, which hopefully had the bathroom somewhere close.

“We all have been rather busy, rebuilding Hogwarts and fighting for our students who have been incarcerated, trialed or who had other traumatic experiences. Therefore, we never had the chance to name a Head Boy and Head Girl, as well as Prefects. You all should be adult enough to discuss this. From you, I would like to have two names by tonight which I can present to the faculty. Remember, these students should be chosen because of their academic achievement, outstanding reputation and an honest, good, and hard-working personality” with these words, she turned around and left the eighth year students behind.

Harry had his eyes locked on the ground as he felt as if thousands of eyes were looking at him. Ron grabbed him by the arm and dragged him through the right door towards dormitory six. Only once Ron closed the door, Harry breathed in softly. If the others were going to make him Head Boy, he would kill them all. Or … something. Harry shook his head, getting every angry thought out of his head and he started looking around.

The room was a little bit bigger than their old dormitory; it had four beds, in the middle a small cracking fire and on the opposite end a door, where Ron had just vanished. The beds have been named and Harry saw with slight resentment, that he was sharing a side with none other than Malfoy. He had hoped that Ron would be the closest to him, but of course fate had other plans…

“Harry, come and look! There’s a bathroom! We have our own bathroom!” Ron yelled as his head popped out of the doorframe for a second. Harry shook his head and grinned slightly.

The bathroom looked beautiful. It was separated into two rooms; the first had two toilets and two sinks. The second room had four shower cabins and two bathtubs. All of them had doors which could be closed when used. The snow white surfaces were gleaming in the lights of candles and a small window by the sinks.

“I think I’ll like it here” Ron said happy. He probably hadn’t seen the names on the beds. However, even though he had seen those exact names, Harry agreed. He didn’t know why, but it was a feeling he had.


	13. Could I have some Time?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The eighth year discusses who should be Head Boy and Girl, while Harry hides in his dormitory. Someone else is also hiding in the dormitory number six.

When the boys left the bathroom, they found Malfoy sitting on his bed, reading a book, which Harry had seen before in the floating library. It was called _Wizard’s Hell_. Ron frowned and was just about to say something when he saw the names on each bed. He rolled his eyes and wanted to drag Harry out of their shared room. Probably to talk about Malfoy and how he hated their dormitory already.

Harry slipped out of Ron’s grasp and threw himself onto his bed.

“What are you doing?” Ron asked with a short side-glance at Malfoy.

“I do not want to go to the Common Room; otherwise, I’d be selected as Head Boy right on the spot. I’m thinking; if I stay out of everyone’s view they might choose somebody else.”

Ron raised his eyebrows but the explanations had apparently convinced him. “Okay, I’m just visiting ‘Mione, I’ll be right back.” He walked by Malfoy and turned towards him. “If you touch him, I’ll kill you!”

The Slytherin lowered the book bored and shrugged his shoulders. Ron glared at him, as he started reading his book again. Shortly after, he left and Harry got up to unpack his trunk. He threw his books on the bed and looked for the picture of his parents which he was sure he had packed into his trunk. He rifled through it and the clothes inside, but he couldn’t find it.

His movements must have become very distraught, because after a few minutes, Malfoy stood next to him.

“What’s going on, Potter?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t… I can’t find it! My picture… I don’t know where…” Harry stammered through the sentence. His mind was racing; he couldn’t see or think clearly. What if he lost it? What if he accidentally didn’t pack it? Did they still have the same password, could he just walk back into the Gryffindor tower and find his picture? What if a house elf accidentally let it fall out somewhere in the castle? He would never be able to find it ever again! He felt the urge to cry. Then, suddenly, the picture of his parents appeared in front of him.

Harry looked up to see Malfoy holding it towards him. Harry had thought that maybe his former nemesis would thrive seeing him lost like he was, but in reality, he seemed a little concerned. Harry breathed out and snatched the picture, before sinking to the floor, holding it close to his heart. For a moment, he had feared that it was lost or gone forever.

“Where did you find it?” he croaked, unable to control his voice. He blinked a few times to keep the tears from spilling.

“You threw it on your bed with all the books” Malfoy answered softly and walked back to his bed, where he picked up his book once again.

“Thank you” Harry whispered. The Slytherin nodded slightly and turned his attention back to the book with a light blue cover.

Harry was still sitting on the floor, when Ron stormed back in, though he had gained back the control of his body. His best friend couldn’t find anything weird going on in his dormitory, so he simply glared at Malfoy for a few seconds, before turning to Harry.

“You were right; they’re still talking about making you Head Boy. Hermione tries to talk them out of it. Which makes everyone think she’d be a good Head Girl. I can’t deny it; she’d be a pretty good choice. Oh and you should see Hermione’s dormitory, the girls have already decorated and they call it ‘The Book Club’. Pretty funny, don’t you think? Other than that, it looks pretty much the same as ours” Ron’s word vomit calmed Harry down even more. Not so much the information that the others still wanted him to be Head Boy.

“Wait, hold on, since when can you walk to the girl’s dormitory?” Harry wondered.

Ron shrugged his shoulders. “Pretty sure, it has something to do with the fact that we’re all eighteen” he grinned. 

Harry simply rolled his eyes. He got up and looked through his books, in case anything else was lying between them which he hadn’t seen. There was nothing else, but school work. Harry nodded barely visible. That would explain how Malfoy knew which picture he was looking for. He placed all his school books in the small shelves over the head of the bed and the picture of his family on his bedside table.

With nothing else to do, Harry was forced to go up the stairs towards the Common Room. It was either that or studying and he had no interest in doing work for school now. As he walked towards the door, Ron jumped up from his bed and followed without a word.

In the Common Room, ten students were vividly discussing the Head Boy and Girl options. Funnily enough, it wasn’t just a discussion that every house had alone. Harry recognized a few Slytherins, Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff. From what he could understand, Head Girl was pretty much set on Hermione – her being Prefect made it much easier to decide. Which could also indicate that they would maybe choose Ron as Head Boy. At least, Harry hoped so.

“Okay, okay, but I mean, who else can claim to have destroyed the dark side? I’m just saying, Harry Potter is our best choice!” Sophie Rogers from Hufflepuff said and opened her arms in a gesture which was probably meant to quiet the others. It did, however, not have the desired effect.

The two Slytherin girls shook their heads. “He always gets everything! We should give that title to somebody else!” Daphne Greengrass argued.

Millicent Bulstrode frowned and looked at her friend. “Sure, but who would you propose?”

“How about Michael Corner?” Fay Dunbar suggested, which got her a few glaring looks, even from Michael who sat across from her.

Seamus und Dean offered to take the title, but were both drowned out by a wave of shocked answers and a discussion of what they would do with it if any of them would get that power. Hermione sat in an armchair, Crookshanks in her lap, shaking her head, when she noticed Harry and Ron standing at the doorframe.

Before she could say anything, Harry walked into the light and made a suggestion himself. “If you want to award a war hero the honor of becoming Head Boy, why not give Neville the title.”

Neville looked up a little surprised and was on his feet short after. “Mate, no. I can’t take the Head Boy position from you! You deserve it, you saved us after all!”

Harry shook his head. “You stayed here, while we went out hunting…” realizing that no one actually knew what they did, he just let the started sentence hang in the air. “You of all people should get the honor. You even fought Snape and his Death Eaters while under their iron fist and you led Dumbledore’s Army last year. If anyone should get this title, it’s you!”

Neville blushed a little and looked to Hanna Abbott and then all the other students gathered around the warm fireplace.

“Are you sure?” he asked Harry cautiously.

“I insist.”

Nobody had anything against it and Hanna grabbed Fay and dragged her towards the girl’s dormitory. 

“Good choice!” she called over her shoulders. “Let us ask the others if they’re okay with our decision.”

“Great idea!” Seamus nudged Ron and dragged him out towards to boy’s dormitory. Ron did not go without some serious swearing and struggles, but after Dean called out and ran after them, Ron failed at freeing himself from both Gryffindors.

Hermione followed her boyfriend’s struggle and when the three Gryffindors disappeared behind the door towards the boy’s dormitory, she smiled at Harry. “How are you doing?”

“Better now that I don’t have to be Head Boy” Harry chuckled and sat down next to Hermione who petted her ginger cat lovingly. Neville sat across from them and looked at him curiously.

“You’re really fine with me being Head Boy?”

“I wouldn’t have said it, if I didn’t mean it.”

The remaining students congratulated Neville happily. It seemed as if Neville was just as good a choice as Harry was. And he had to say that this was even better. Neville nodded and smiled. “I think I will check on Hanna, see if anyone in the girl’s dormitory needs to be persuaded or if they’re okay with me taking your place” he said, getting up.

Harry grinned and leaned back. That moment, the rest of the students walked in and congratulated Neville as well. Even the marauders were present. They were probably hoping for someone to slip up and tell them something about the past or why Neville was the better choice than Harry. It was like an explosion; news had travelled fast and Neville had all hands full. Dean had brought up another set of fireworks, which he led off and whoever had charmed the dancing furniture in the Gryffindor Common Room had charmed the once here as well. Harry didn’t really want to think that it was Hermione, but something told him that she did this.

He ducked and headed back to his dormitory. There was too much chaos up in the Common Room and he hoped to find some peace somewhere else. The big silver six still decorated the door as Harry pushed it open.

Malfoy wasn’t on his bed, when Harry walked in which was fine by him. He lay on his back and took out the first snitch he’d ever caught. It still had the inscription ‘I open at the close’. Harry let it go and it fluttered around the bed.

Harry’s mind went to the scene the snitch had reminded him. Standing in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. His loved once guiding him to certain death. Every step of the way. Taking his fears, encouraging him to jump towards the man who would very likely be killing him. Maybe hoping, he would spend his time with them, very soon.

In the end, he was happy they were there. It helped facing Voldemort. It helped with his nerves, calming them, even though he was basically knocking at death’s door. Harry remembered the three marauders, who were now very close once again. He could just walk out the door, down a few steps and be standing in front of their room, which they had undoubtedly called ‘Marauders’.

Harry shot up, when someone snapped his fingers right in front of his eyes. He had his wand in his hands and stared at Malfoy, who held his hands up in excuse.

“Sorry, Potter. I’ve been asking you why you’re here for about a minute now and you haven’t answered. I thought I had to get you out of that trance-like state.”

Harry nodded sheepishly, pocketed his wand again and grabbed his snitch out of the air. “I thought you were gone.”

“I wouldn’t know where to” Malfoy said and got back on his bead. “Also, I don’t really mind your snitch flying around.”

Skeptically, Harry looked over to Malfoy, but he had his eyes locked on the book and Harry released the small ball from his hands. It fluttered around the bed post and around Harry who stood up to get a potions book. If the choices were to be in the chaotic Common Room or the silent dormitory, he had to choose the latter. Which sadly also meant he had to learn something. The best thing he could do was study Potions.

“Trying to improve your Defence skills?” Malfoy asked without looking up from his books.

Harry frowned a little, but grimaced then. “Yes, definitely! Pretty sure I’m in need of a lot of training to get to the top of this class.”

The Slytherin finally looked at Harry, an eyebrow raised, as if unsure if he was joking or not. Harry was proud to be able to keep his facial expression straight. At least for a few moments, before he started grinning and shaking his head.

“Really!? You think I would teach you DADA when I needed help of my own?” he laughed. Malfoy rolled his eyes.

“Yes, yes. I’m sorry to be the one that has to break the news to you, but I might not know you as well as your friends do” Malfoy explained and closed his book entirely. “What are you reading then?”

“Potions” As Harry stated the subject of his book, he remembered what the Slytherin had told him last night. However, the two of them sitting under his Invisibility Cloak in front of the wall for the fallen wizards and witches seemed to be more a dream than reality. He still hoped it actually happened, so he didn’t confuse dream with the real life - again.

Last time this happened… Sirius died.

Harry choked his feelings. He was _not_ going to cry in front of Malfoy for the second time in this short amount of time they’d shared a room! As if the Snitch had realized Harry’s change of emotions, it fluttered closer and directly into his face.

“Hey!” he called out, while the Slytherin started laughing loudly. Harry couldn’t bite back a smirk and pushed the Snitch out of his face, so it started circling the bed post again.

“I actually have a question about … last night” Harry stated once it was quiet again in the dormitory. He stubbornly stared at the bed post of Ron’s bed.

“What do you mean?”

Harry’s breath shortened. Was it really a dream? Did Malfoy not know what happened last night? He shook his head slightly. “You said you’d see me in Potions tomorrow, but it’s Saturday!”

The Slytherin grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I’ve been looking for a way to repay you for your DADA lessons and I think I’ve found a way! I can help you by teaching you Potions. “

Harry was on one hand happy, that it wasn’t actually a dream, but on the other hand why would Malfoy do something so nice? Harry bit his lower lip. It did sound promising. The Slytherin knew so much about Potions, and he needed help. Not just from Hermione; she didn’t trust him in Potions anymore. Every time he actually knew something, she was looking for Snape’s old potions book. Which definitely burned with the rest of the Room of Requirement or whatever room it was. He needed someone who could actually be trusted in teaching him. But… could he trust Malfoy?

They had spent quite some time together and even alone. The blond wizard never tried to kill him, so Harry was pretty sure he didn’t have to fear for his life around the Slytherin.

“I would actually really appreciate that!” Harry had to admit. He watched as his Snitch fluttered over his trunk and he suddenly felt even better.


	14. Time and Tide tarry for no Man – Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco finds Harry out of bed and decides fo follow him, which leads to both of them talking in the middle of the night - once again.

The evening had ended on a high note. At least for some students. When Head Girl and Boy had been announced, everyone cheered for Granger and Longbottom. The Prefects had been named as well and soon enough they were all sent to McGonagall’s office for a short briefing. Everybody else left for their Common Room and soon after headed to bed.

To say that Draco was confused was probably the understatement of the century. However, he wasn’t confused about the fact that his housemates, and in fact all the other houses, hated him to the core – except for Daphne, Millicent and Lily, the Slytherin girls. He wasn’t confused that the headmistress had thrown him into the dormitory with Potter and friends. It was probably the safest bet for him to survive and feel sort of save. He was, however, confused that Potter didn’t hate him, that he had actually accepted his apology and gave him a second chance – unlike his ginger friend. Their nightly and sudden discussions had been weird; weird topics, weird jokes and a weird vibe. But they had helped immensely.

Draco had gotten to know a side of Potter of which he was sure, he hadn’t revealed to a lot of people. In fact, Draco wasn’t even sure if his best friends knew what was going on with the Golden Boy. Over the course of their discussions, Draco had realized that they shared so much; Potter was an unwilling participant of the good side – and yes, it was the right side, but he had been thrown into the leading role without another option. Draco knew exactly how it felt, having been thrown into a leading role himself in sixth year, without any way of backing down.

Somehow, their clashing personalities had worked out really well together and truth be told, Draco loved the DADA lessons he was given. The Potions lessons might just be another way of spending more time together. Draco wasn’t sure what he had wanted to achieve with his offer to teach Potter. Yes, he wanted to pay the Golden Boy back for his help, but not actually with Potions. He remembered the poor Savior not being very good at those – except for one weird year. But the offer had been made, before his brain could realize what just happened and once Potter had accepted, it felt wrong to take it back.

All these thoughts were rushing through Draco’s head as he lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling. He could hear the Weasel snoring softly, but there was no sound coming from Potter. Maybe it was the spell he had felt the Golden Boy put up around his bed. Or maybe he was just still awake and not making any sound.

Suddenly, he heard movement and in the dimly lit room, he saw Potter grabbing his glasses and cloak and heading out. Thinking that it was the perfect payback for sixth year and because he was still a little curious, he got out of his bed himself and followed the quiet man up to the Common Room. There, he froze, as he saw Granger sitting in an armchair, staring into the fire, back turned towards them. From what he could gather with only seeing her back, she must be deep in thought. Draco heard the door to the Common Room open quietly and snuck up to the balcony and out the door.

There was no noise from anywhere, except for the soft wind howling through the empty corridors. Draco shook his head and tried to listen again for some kind of noise. Just as he was about to give up, Potter stood in front of him. Draco almost jumped out of his skin, but relaxed rather quickly. This was the man he was trying to find, so…

“You call that tracing skills?” Potter grinned. “You’re stomping around as if you wanted to let the whole castle know you’re out of bed.” Draco rolled his eyes but couldn’t bite back a smirk.

“Now you know how I felt in sixth year” he answered quickly.

Laughing softly, Potter pulled his cloak half over him, only letting his head stay visible. “You’d better go back to the dormitory. Otherwise, someone’ll see you out here.”

Draco frowned. “And what about you?”

Potter shrugged his shoulders. Now that Draco looked at his floating head closer, he could see the dark circle around his eyes and the tired look. He looked like he hadn’t slept properly in days. What ghosts were haunting him? He couldn’t figure out what the Golden Boy must be going through. He had defeated the bad side! However, Draco remembered seeing Potter in the arms of the half-giant. Dead. Or not dead, whatever. Voldemort thought he was dead, so the question was; what happened in the forest that night? Maybe this was haunting him? Though he had mentioned nightmares and something with his father a few days back. Maybe all of this together was giving him those sleepless nights.

“You’d be surprised what one has to learn on the run. For example how to work efficiently while being sleep-deprived and with a Hor…” Potter stopped in the middle of a word, the fake smile he had been wearing, changing into a painful expression. “Nevermind.”

Draco decided not to test his luck and make him finish his sentence. So, he changed the subject instead. “Do your friends know that you’re sneaking around at night? That you’re not actually in bed?” He didn’t like how honestly concerned he sounded. Unable to help himself, he finished off his question with an equally as concerned look.

Potter laughed bitterly. “Did you not see Hermione by the fire? I’m not the only restless soul. And Ron, he pretends that nothing’s touching him, but in reality, he cries every night before he falls asleep and when he wakes up, he rushes to the shower to drain his unseen tears. Neville walks through the grounds at night, looking for all the battle sites, placing all kinds of different flowers there. He scrubs the ‘Dumbledore’s Army”-graffiti on the walls off with his bare hands and no magic, because he needs the distraction. Dean is so scared of being left behind that he can’t stay alone and Seamus is the only one that can keep him sane. And speaking of that man, he tries to wash the scars on his face off every morning without success. He can’t stand to see people sleeping, because it reminds him of the hopelessness of seeing my dead body, so he always closes the curtains of his bed as soon as he gets in. Everyone’s been affected, Malfoy. Some more than others” He shrugged his shoulders once more and turned around, hiding completely under his cloak again.

Draco wasn’t sure what to say next. There was so much pain and suffering in all the newly acquired information. Interestingly enough though, Potter managed to speak of everyone else but himself. It hadn’t been the first time he’d seen him sneaking around the castle grounds, so why wouldn’t he just talk about it?

Unsure whether or not Potter was still around here or if he was in fact talking to thin air, he spoke as softly as possible. “You do realize that all of this sounds like you should get a Mind Healer, right?”

Potter yanked off his cloak and stared daggers into Draco’s eyes. “Why does everyone want to convince me to go see a Mind Healer?! I’m not insane!” he hissed.

Draco frowned. “That has nothing to do with your sanity. Don’t you realize that your mood changes and sleepless nights along with your jumpiness might be problematic? That a Mind Healer could actually help you with all of this?”

His former nemesis spoke so slowly it almost sounded like a warning. “I am _not_ in need of a Mind Healer!”

In a sudden burst of honesty, Draco decided to tell the other man something not even his own parents knew. Although, if they knew they’d disown him and maybe that would be a step into the right direction… To be honest, though, they probably knew: it was his probation. “I have a Mind Healer. It was part of my probation. Right now, it’s the only thing that keeps me sane.”

Potter stood dead in his tracks and looked at him in what seemed to be surprise and some kind of sadness. He didn’t know why. Maybe it was his honesty or the fact that he was seeing a Mind Healer. Who knew with Potter. Maybe he was thinking about probations… Or something entirely different.

“How… What… How… is it helping you?”

Draco grimaced. Did he want him to give him an example? Well, at least he had actually been listening to what he was saying.

So… How was his Mind Healer helping him?

“The first day back, I got hexed pretty badly. McGonagall found me lying on the first floor and brought me into the Hospital Wing. My Mind Healer helped me through the experience. On Monday, when I see her again, I will be talking about how they locked me out of the Slytherin Common Room and how happy I am that my new Common Room doesn’t require a password anymore.” It was weird being honest and talking about things like that with somebody else than his Mind Healer and Harry Potter out of all people. He felt open und vulnerable.

However, if this was the only way to convince Potter that Mind Healers were in fact pretty good and that he should most certainly find one as soon as possible… it was a win in his book. He didn’t want to tell Potter everything, though. A lot of the discussions in his sessions revolved around one topic: The bloody Savior himself. And his fascination with him. But that was a story for another time.

“I don’t understand… How is talking actually helping you?” Potter was obviously confused.

Draco looked around. It was surprising that during their long discussion in front of the eighth year Common Room, no one had walked by and found them out of bed. He did not want to push his luck and turned towards his former nemesis.

“How about we go somewhere a little more private? Where were you headed, before I stopped you?” He asked.

Potter bit his lower lip and stared into the dark corridor. “I was headed to the owlery. It always calms me down.”

Draco nodded and started walking towards the place the dark haired wizard named. Potter was right behind him, he could hear him walking quietly. They climbed the stairs and were soon surrounded by birds. Draco couldn’t really understand how a place that smelled like bird shit and rotten animals (mostly mice) could calm down the Hero of the Wizarding World. Once again, if a place where he felt safe could help him understand that he was in genuine need of some mental healing, he was going to go there.

He almost grinned over how much he would do for Potter. Would he have done something like this any time before the Dark Lord had died? He wasn’t sure, but he liked to think that he would have…

“So. How is talking to someone actually helping me be able to sleep?” Potter asked as he turned around and sat on a window sill. It was too small for two people to sit there and not get into each other’s hair. Draco decided to just stand there, while he was discussing the benefits of a Mind Healer.

Before he could say anything, an owl jumped to the floor and looked curiously at Draco demanding something to eat. He raised his eyebrows. Normally, these owls just demanded a treat when they brought letters. This small silver owl looked at Draco as if she was going to tear him into tiny, little pieces if she didn’t get anything to eat. He raised his eyes and looked at Potter who had serious trouble hiding his smirk as he observed the interaction. Draco shook his head slowly.

“Did you bring me here, so you can see me fight an owl?” he asked seriously debating if he should just walk back to his dormitory.

The Golden Boy laughed and threw him an owl treat. He caught it with ease and before he could give it to the owl, she basically attacked his hand and flew away with the treat in her beak.

“It’s Luna’s owl. She’s a little capricious” Potter explained. At least he had an honest smile on his face. 

Draco didn't even have time to think about something else; the other man took out his wand and pointed it at Draco’s hand. He didn’t even realize that he was bleeding. After a wordless incantation, the bleeding stopped and his hand healed instantly, leaving only a small scar.

“How did you…” He looked down at his hands. He stretched his fingers, but couldn’t feel any pain.

Potter smiled, when he glanced at him. It was back to a painful smile, probably with a lot of bad memories. “I told you: You learn a lot while on the run.”

Draco nodded. He had no idea how to get from the topic they were discussing to the one he actually wanted to discuss. So… he decided to just change it without saying anything else.

“Look, I can see you’re not really interested in this whole Mind Healer business” he started. He had an idea how he could trick Potter into at least attending one session. Hoping that this session would then lead to more. “So, how about a game?”

The other wizard raised his eyebrows. He definitely wasn’t stupid, that was sure. “What are you planning?”

Draco grinned slightly. “Nothing! But we’re betting. If I win, I get to decide something you have to do – such as visiting a Mind Healer. If you win, you can decide.”

Potter shook his head. “You can’t suggest something like that and have no ground rules! If you win, do I have to visit a Mind Healer until you tell me it’s okay to stop? Can you decide over every decision until you say the bet’s over?”

Before the slightly paranoid wizard could over think more stuff and end up in a dead end with no path back, Draco clarified what he meant with his bet. “One decision, that’s all. And this one decision only works once and you have to choose something that’s achievable within one week tops. So if I win and tell you to go visit a Mind Healer, you go once within the next week. You can decide to stay quiet to whole time or to actually try and talk. I don’t get to be your boss from then on – nor you mine.”

It was quiet for some time. Potter looked out into the dark night. Not wanting to look like an enforcer, Draco backed off and turned to another window from which he could almost see the lake. There were no waves visible; the night was beautifully quiet and suddenly windless. And whatever creatures were hiding underneath the surface didn’t show up.

“What’s the game?” Potter suddenly brought him back into the presence.

“It’s very simple. You say two statements that are true and one that’s a lie. I have to guess what statement’s a lie. Then I’ll do the same.”

Potter remained silent for a few seconds. “But… How can someone win? And also win the bet?”

“If I haven’t found the lie after two attempts, you win. If I can find the lie, I win.”

“So… Wait… Hold on. That means we’re playing twice? You could win twice? I could win twice? We could both win once?”

Draco shrugged. “It should be fair, right?”

“I guess.”


	15. Time and Tide tarry for no Man – Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Harry play a game with consequences.

Potter still looked a little uncomfortable. Draco wasn’t sure what part made him uncomfortable: Being alone in the owlery with a Death Eater, the proposed game or the mention of seeing a Mind Healer. In what almost seemed to be a stroke of genius, Draco remembered the duel he was forced to participate in with the black haired wizard. And he acted on his intuition.

“Scared, Potter?”

The grin that spread over the other man’s face was honest and freaking handsome. “You wish” he was almost whispering. He chuckled quietly and leaned back at the stone wall. Suddenly, he turned to Draco. “Okay. But I’ll start.” Draco nodded. He couldn’t believe this actually worked! They were playing his game! What did it say about their… relationship? Potter trusted him not to decide something stupid… Before he could think more about their relationship, Potter started with his sentences.

“First up; I’ve lived in a cupboard under the stairs in my Muggle home until I was eleven, even though they had a spare bedroom. Secondly; I have never possessed all Deathly Hallows. And last but not least; Voldemort actually killed me.”

Draco stared at Potter. This was going to be much harder than he anticipated. All of those seemed unrealistic. Well, he had to just choose one so that at least one possibility was gone. The only problem was… which one was the most unlikely to be true?

“Well, you’re not dead. So I guess Voldemort didn’t kill you” he quickly realized the fault in Potter’s sentences. “Next time make it a little bit more difficult.”

Just as he wanted to start his own sentences, the black haired wizard grinned and slipped from the window sill he had been sitting on. “Well, bad news for you; he actually did kill me and I was dead for a few moments.”

Draco stopped dead in his tracks. What? How could someone who had been _dead_ for whatever amount of time not get any mental help? And how could the bloody Savior appear so nonchalant about all of this?!

“But… How…? You’re here!” he was unable to form any kind of sentence.

Potter shrugged his shoulders. “I had a choice when I was dead. I could either decide to go and leave everyone else to finish my fight or I could decide to go back and end this damn war myself. I chose the latter, obviously.”

Draco just stood there, mouth open, mind racing. However, the only question that was forming in his mind needed to be asked. He couldn’t keep it in. “Who else knows about this?” How could Granger and Weasley let him get away with the trauma he had lived through?

“Besides you… Maybe Voldemort.”

“Potter! What about your friends?” Draco was completely lost.

“They’d freak out if they’d know. Now, Malfoy, are we here playing a game or do you want to ask more questions for your next interview with the Prophet?” Potter asked rather sharply.

“I don’t do interviews, Potter” he rolled his eyes. However, he was right. They were playing a game after all. Maybe he could ask more questions some other time. The other two points his former nemesis had mentioned were the cupboard and the Deathly Hallows. Luckily, Draco knew that the latter were superstitions and children’s fairytales. So, the wrong one must be the cupboard. No Hero of all things wizard he knew of had ever lived under the stairs!

“You never lived in a cupboard under some stairs. Which means, I get a point.”

Potter grinned once again. “Not really, Malfoy. It means _I_ get a point. I used to live under the stairs and I have indeed possessed all Deathly Hallows at one point.”

Draco once again stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the black haired wizard in front of him. It wasn’t much the first information that threw him off track, but rather the realization that the Deathly Hallows were in fact real.

“You… Deathly Hallows… what?” Draco noticed that Potter was amused by his lack of words, but that didn’t bother him too much. “They’re real? Like… I could touch them?”

Potter laughed and it brought Draco back down to earth. “You already touched one of them! My Invisibility Cloak is the actual cloak from the Deathly Hallows!”

It felt like someone had pulled away the ground under his feet and he had to sit down. The black haired wizard was immediately by his side.

“Are you okay?” he asked a little concerned.

“No! No I am most certainly not okay!” He sounded like a child. A child that didn’t get ice cream… Even Potter had picked up on it, trying to hide a smirk.

He knew from the very beginning, he should have just used Legilimency. He had heard his godfather Severus talk about how bad Potter was at Occlumency. That way he could have just gotten a point. However, that would have been an unfair advantage and who knew; maybe Potter was so bad, that Draco would see everything except the sentences.

Draco sat straight and turned to the other wizards. “How was this fair? The Deathly Hallows were never supposed to be real!” Draco was clearly confused. If the Dark Lord would have known about them, everything could have changed! He could have actually defeated Potter and won the war!

The Savior smiled softly. “Funny story, though: You actually once possessed the power to command the Elder Wand. Though, I doubt you…”

“I… what?!” Draco interrupted Potter. Was he joking? Or serious? As he stared at the dark haired wizard he could find nothing but honesty in his eyes. So… He was once wielding the Elder Wand without knowing it?

“When you disarmed Dumbledore up in the Astronomy tower” Potter stated quietly. “The wand chose you as its new master.”

If there was something such as too much information for his brain to handle; it was happening to him right now. There were too many questions, too many surprises and too much news about Potter and also his destiny.

“Malfoy!” the other man in the owlery brought him back to reality. “So, I’ve got a point. Now it’s your turn.”

“Hold on!” Under no circumstances was he going to let Potter get away with it. He just got a whole lot of new information and the damn Golden Boy was just going to ignore this and make him do his own sentences? How could he think that would ever work?

“The Savior of the Wizarding World is trying to get away with valuable information!” Draco tried to make a joke. His brain, however, was definitely not on earth; otherwise, he would have realized that there was nothing in this sentence that even resembled a joke.

Only, when Potter winced slightly, did he realize that the other man probably didn’t like to be called that.

“Sorry” Draco apologizes quietly.

There was a soft smile on the other man’s face, before he turned around and looked out the window. “If you want to, I can answer one question, before we continue. But” he turned around and looked at Draco a little stern. “If I find the answer to that question in the Prophet, I will give them an exclusive about something embarrassing you do!”

Draco laughed, after he thought about what was being said. “You do understand that this makes it sound like we’ve known each other for years and you know every small detail of my life!”

Potter shrugged his shoulders. “Technically, we’ve known each other for eight years – which is exactly the same amount of time that I’ve known my two best friends – and for the Prophet, I will just make something up that is so embarrassing, no one even looks at you anymore!”

It was quiet up in the tower. Draco waited until the damn Golden Boy would realize that nothing he could say would make his situation any worse. His childhood friends and the only ones who would actually look at him were gone, his father sat in Azkaban and his mother had house arrest. None of them were going to look at him in the nearest future. The other students ignored him mostly, except for some exceptions…

Finally, Potter caught up to the reality. With a soft “Oh” he looked slightly embarrassed and out the window. Draco thought hard for some joke or funny sentence through which he could destroy the tension between them. Maybe even get back to playing the game…

He stood up and leaned on the wall, facing his childhood nemesis. “At least now I can finally try my own Harry-Potter-Look. Which is basically; going to class without caring what I look like.”

Potter snorted with laughter and shook his head. “I _am_ trying, Malfoy! I can’t be blamed for my uncooperative hair! Now, did you want to ask me something or should we get back to the game?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “I do have a question before we continue.” Potter looked at him curiously, so he asked. “How do you know what happened in the Astronomy tower? Did… did someone tell you?”

He could see the other man’s face fall. His eyes, which had sparkled from his previous sentence, suddenly became dead. And the smile that had been plastered on his face was nothing more than a memory. Now, it was back to the fake smile, Draco had seen in every newspaper as of lately and even around Hogwarts.

“I was there. Dumbledore hexed me with a full-body-bind curse and threw the cloak over me. I could see everything but I couldn’t interrupt anything.”

And once again, Draco hated himself for asking questions for which he wasn’t ready for. Potter was there. He saw him almost kill his hero. He saw and heard the interactions he had with the other Death Eaters and that damn werewolf.

“Back to the game?” Potter asked softly and when Draco looked back at him, he could see the smile change once again.

“Definitly.”

Right. So Draco needed this point to get the other man into at least visit one test session with a healer. If the war hero could play dirty, so could he. Potter had used sentences which were all highly unlikely. So, he was going into the other direction.

“I’m expected to marry Pansy Parkinson and produce an heir as soon as possible. My probation requires me to finish the eighth year at Hogwarts, visit a Mind healer and choose a respectably job, once I’m out. I still enjoy my parent’s company, even though I’m sometimes dreaming of being disowned.”

It was with great pleasure that he saw Potter’s slightly annoyed look. “Are you kidding me? All of those are true!”

Draco shook his head. “Nope. One is wrong. Guess which one.”

“Can I maybe ask you some questions, before we start?”

Draco could just about hold back a laugh and shook his head. “You can’t just go around creating your own set of rules, Potter” he grinned.

“Not with you, anyway. That’s what I’ve always liked about you. You never saw me as the Holy Hero of Wizards and Witches, but as an annoying idiot who couldn’t do anything right” the _Holy Hero of Wizards and Witches_ said.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, Scarhead, but apparently you’re quite good at Quidditch.”

Potter turned around rather quickly. A mischievous grin spread over his face and the sparkles back in his eyes. In that moment, Draco realized that he would do anything to keep the Golden Boy’s expression like that for the rest of his life. It suited him. However, the realization came so fast and was so surprising that Draco didn’t know how to react.

Luckily, his ever so oblivious childhood nemesis did not see anything. Instead, he grinned at him.

“Oh, hell no! Did you just complement me, Malfoy? Are you feeling alright? Do you need some sleep or a Pepperup Potion?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Concentrate, Potter! Which of my sentences is wrong?”

Potter sighed. Draco was sure that he had used those questions to gain some additional time.

“I think you were not required to visit Hogwarts. I mean, you said it yourself, Goyle transferred to Durmstrang. My guess is that you could have transferred as well.”

Draco smiled a little. Potter must have seen it, because Draco didn’t even have time to react, when the Golden Boy stared at him in disbelieve. “I’m wrong?”

“They wanted us separated” Draco nodded. “Durmstrang teaches more Dark Arts, so they decided not to send me there, but instead make me finish my education at Hogwarts.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Goyle reminded me too much of Crabbe” Draco swallowed and looked out the window. He hadn’t thought about the lost part of his trio in some time.

Apparently, Potter didn’t really know how he should react, so he stayed quiet as well. Or maybe he had another of his daydreams… well, nightdreams, now. Draco spoke without looking at the other man, just in case he had pity in his eyes. He really couldn’t stomach that right now. “Okay, next attempt. What do you think is a lie?”

Potter remained quiet for a few minutes. Draco finally glanced over and found his former nemesis deep in thought. He decided to stay quiet as well. The soft hoots from the owls above their heads were the only sounds in the early morning. Truth be told, Draco would have loved to know what Potter was thinking about and maybe even guide him towards the wrong direction, just so he could win. He needed this point!

“Alright” Potter broke the peaceful silence. “I don’t know which part is wrong, but I think that you either don’t enjoy your parents’ company or you don’t dream of getting disowned. Actually, I think the latter is wrong.”

Draco felt like a mountain fell from his heart. He had won! Potter needed to go to one session of therapy.

“Sorry, Potter. I win.”

“Are you sure?” Potter asked grinning. Draco rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sure! Those are my sentences, aren’t they?”

“So… you’re not supposed to produce an heir?” Potter asked visibly confused about this sentence.

Draco snorted. “Of course I have to! I’m just not supposed to marry Pansy.”

Potter frowned. “So, who are you supposed to marry?”

“I don’t think that concerns you” He tried his best to sound upbeat, but it came out more bitter than he wanted it to be.

Potter seemingly wanted to say something, but a glaring look from Draco shut him up before he even started.

“Well” Draco stated. He needed to get to a new topic. Or let’s say a new old topic. “I’ve already decided what I want you to do: A test session with a Mind Healer. If you want, I can ask mine, if she’d be willing to take on a war hero, but I don’t think she can say No to you, oh Chosen One.”

Potter rolled his eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

“What?”

“Chosen One. I hate it.”

Draco frowned and thought about something to make his hated nickname sound better. “How about… Chosen nun?”

Potter looked at him a little baffled, but started laughing loudly soon enough, so that a few owls jumped up and flew off into the imminent sunrise.

“No, come on! You do need to be a bit more creative than that!”

Draco grinned. “Well, it’s either nun, sun or fun. Nothing else rhymes. Or we’re going with The Chosen Idiot, I’m flexible!”

Still smirking, Potter shrugged his shoulders. “I get to choose? In that case, let’s go with idiot.”

“Fine” Draco laughed quietly. “Are you okay with me asking my Healer?”

 _The Chosen Idiot_ nodded after a while. “Does anybody else have to know about this?” he asked a little concerned.

“If you don’t want to, I won’t tell anyone. And my Mind Healer, she won’t tell a soul. I’ll make sure of it.”

It felt weird, taking care of Potter, who in reality took looked after everyone else. But now it seemed important that someone took care of him instead. It sounded like his friends were going through stuff as well, but maybe the goal was for their hero to feel better, so that they could look after themselves as well.

“Well, tell me when you’ve planned my meeting” Potter said, while he got to his feet. “I have to tell Hermione and Ron that they can take the day off babysitting the…” he stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards Draco who frowned slightly. “…transfer students” Potter ended his sentences with an all too obvious gap in the middle.

Draco wasn’t going to say anything about that. Not yet, anyway. There was, however, another topic he needed to get some information.

“What about the decision you can make on my behalf?” he asked and raised his eyebrows.

Potter shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. I’ll tell you sometime this week.” And with that he vanished. Draco shrugged his shoulders, sat on the window sill and decided to watch the sunrise. He couldn’t believe they’d spent almost the whole night in a place full of dead animals, bird shit and owl feathers.


	16. The Arrow of Time points towards the Future not the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's babysitting the marauders, when Malfoy walks in, accidentally slips up and reveals something (small).

Harry sat on the floor in his room and thought about Sunday. He had been right about the marauders; they had actually called their room ‘Marauder’s Area’. The peace that had existed while they had worked on homework two hours before lunch, had disappeared rather quickly. Most of the eighth year students had gone to Hogsmeade. Since the official Hogsmeade date would be next week, everyone enjoyed a day without the younger students. Even the seventh year had commented on how unfair this solution was.

In the end, Harry, Neville and Malfoy had been the only eighth year students left in the Common Room. Malfoy had read in a book and written down some ingredients for a potion, before he went out as well. Neville chose to look after some plants in the greenhouses, which made Harry sit there alone.

He had promised Ron and Hermione that he would babysit the marauders. As an apology for having them deal with the time travelers alone most of the time for the last week or six days. They had started with homework, but Harry had seen James and Sirius try and look not suspicious. Which by the way, never worked out. Remus had apparently gotten the job of distracting him long enough for the others to set up some kind of trap.

It almost worked. However, dealing with some other prankster – mainly the Weasley twins – they couldn’t fool him long enough. Before they apparently could charm the tables to eat everything someone would place on them, Harry appeared, Remus in tow and dragged everyone back to the dormitory, where they were sitting for the rest of the day.

Even though Sirius complained about the boring hours of being a student, James tried to put some mild hexes upon Harry – which he all dodged, due to his extensive training in fighting a war – and Remus was immersed in a book about Time Turners, they stayed inside until dinner time arrived, when they met up with the rest of the Golden Trio, Neville, Dean and Seamus.

Ron shared the sweets he’d bought and talked about all the shops that were coming back to Hogsmeade. Apparently, George had made an effort and bought a place in Hogsmeade. Harry wasn’t sure if it was the best idea to come back to the pace, where Fred died, but if George wanted it that way, he was going to support him. Far was it for him to tell someone what to do or where to move. He came back to Hogwarts after all.

Dean and Seamus tried to get everyone involved into talking Quidditch, however, seeing as though there were time travelers at the table, Hermione reminded them about two three paged essays they had to write. Their pale faces spoke volumes on how far they were with homework.

Sunday was after all, not really interesting. At least for Harry, even though for once he had finished his homework before dinner and that while dodging hexes, keeping a close eye on Sirius and letting Remus roam free.

The next day wasn’t that much fun either. The three marauders were whining about potions (well, Sirius and James were) and the double of History of Magic, which to be honest, no one really liked. Nevertheless, they seemed to have accepted their fate and simply walked to class. Everything went smoothly. Too smoothly. Harry was sure that maybe, they wanted it to look like they’d accepted everything but as soon as they were given space and were trusted, they’d do something stupid. It was just a feeling…

It was evening, dinner was over and Harry sat on the floor in his room, looking for something in the book he may or may not have kept from the library. ‘Useful Knowledge about Time’ open in his lap, he checked the build of the Time Turner once again. He couldn’t quite figure out what was the problem or weird, but something didn’t seem right.

Suddenly, the door opened and his father and friends entered. They looked like they were seriously done with whatever just happened. Harry looked up from his book and gave them a questioning look.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Sirius fell on the bed opposite of Harry grunting. James sat on the floor as well and Remus brought the enormous book ‘Time Turners and Consequences’ with him and just opened it without a comment.

“Why can’t we know something? I mean, just _something_ about our future. Something small and simple! Something that wouldn’t interrupt the time line! We heard some people talking about the war and…”

Harry interrupted James immediately. “What did they say?”

James rolled his eyes. “Nothing! That’s so frustrating! They talked about some funerals and how they can’t understand how some people are not in Azkaban.” Harry shrugged his shoulders. At least they didn’t accidentally hear something bad.

“We have been over this for the last week” Harry started. “So, would you like for me to give you all details or would a short summary of the most important points suffice?”

Sirius glared at Harry and he had a lot of trouble biting back his grin. “A short synopsis it is” He said quietly. “You could destroy the stream of history, if you find something which to me looks like a detail, but means the world to you. You already know James is my father and Remus fought in the Battle of Hogwarts. That’s more than enough if you go back to your time.”

It was quiet for quite some time. James staring at his shoelaces, Remus reading a book on Harry’s bed and Sirius glaring at the ceiling. Harry in the mean time looked closer at the graphics depicting all the different objects needed for a Time Turner.

All of a sudden, the door flew open with a bang and blond wizard walked in while talking. “Hey, so I know it’s at short notice, but my healer wants to see you on Tuesday…”

Obviously surprised to see the marauders in his dormitory, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at his classmate. “So sorry… I thought… I saw Granger and Weasley in the library and with Blaise not being back, I thought you were alone…”

“No worries” Harry interrupted. He nodded towards Malfoy, to make him feel a little less guilty. When he realized the questioning looks the Slytherin gave the three other students, he decided to finally introduce them by name. “I don’t think you’ve met properly. That’s Ja… Julian Podmore” He pointed to James, sitting on the floor. He bit his lower lip and tried to focus, he had almost slipped up… His father raised his hand and waved. “Over here’s Richard Limus.” Remus nodded shortly and turned back to his book. “And Simon Boot.” Sirius simply rolled his eyes.

Harry then turned to the marauders. “And that’s Draco Malfoy, my classmate from Slytherin.”

“And former childhood nemesis” Malfoy finished his sentence. Harry smirked slightly and shook his head. “So, Boot? Like Terry? The Ravenclaw?” the Slytherin turned towards his classmate. “You know; short brown hair, weird blue-green eyes and always carries a book about some creature or Arithmancy around.”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “I had no idea you still judged people by their looks, Malfoy!” he grinned as the Slytherin rolled his eyes annoyed. “But, yes. Of course I know him. He shares his dorm with Dean.”

“Well, there are a lot of Boots. Maybe our grandparents were second cousins twice removed or something” Sirius pitched in. Harry frowned, that was way too complicated to get right, but Malfoy seemed to accept it.

“Okay…” he laughed. He turned to his classmate. “So, you really are their babysitter? Why don’t you trust them that everything will be okay if they’re on their own?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders and glanced over to James who had a wide grin spread over his face. “Last time I let them wander around alone, they found information about the war – McGonagall told us they’re not supposed to know anything.” It didn’t really match the truth, but it sounded good. Sirius rolled his eyes again, just as Harry looked at him frowning.

“Really? What did you find out?” Malfoy asked clearly amused.

“That Re…mus Lupin fought in the Battle of Hogwarts” Sirius stated, almost stumbling over Remus’ name which he was now allowed to use, since… This whole time travel thing was getting more and more complicated. Harry rubbed his temples. Remus looked up from his book, when Sirius mentioned his name. The black haired wizard wasn’t done yet. “But we can’t find out whether or not Sirius Black…”

Harry glared daggers at Sirius and shut him up almost immediately. How could he think that letting him speak was a good idea? Of course he was going to try and find a loophole to gain some knowledge.

However, Malfoy made it almost a thousand percent worse. “Sirius Black? Your godfather?” he asked innocently.

Sirius opened his eyes in surprise, while James and Remus looked at him like they had just seen death itself. Malfoy seemed more than a little confused by what was going on now, but Harry had to admit that he was happy for the other man’s presence. Otherwise, the marauders would probably ask him into oblivion.

He decided to go back to the original topic and give Malfoy a reason to run – if the Slytherin wanted to. “So… my session’s tomorrow? Where do I have to go and when?”

Malfoy seemed glad to be back on familiar territory. “It’s a room right next to the Hospital Wing. My healer’s called Angelica White, her door’ll be open. And you best be there around four, is that okay?”

Harry nodded and Malfoy smiled shortly before he turned tail and fled. It was quiet for a while. Even though Harry knew that his hopes of it remaining like that would be destroyed any second now – judging by the tense air surrounding them all – he was still hoping. What was it called? Hope dies last. But it dies eventually.

As predicted, Sirius broke the silence. “I’m your godfather?!”

With a sigh, Harry answered. “Yeah.”

“I’m probably the best godfather ever!” Sirius called out and jumped onto Ron’s bed. “I’m a dogfather!” he howled.

James snorted and threw the book closest to him into his friend’s direction. “You’re probably the worst dogfather ever!” he grinned.

Remus got up from Harry’s bed and frowned. “Wait, so if James is your father and Sirius is your dogf… godfather, what am I?”

Harry didn’t know how to answer this. They weren’t relatives, but he still felt a strong bond between them. After all, Remus was a father figure for him. However, saying that would raise the question why he had to be Harry’s father figure in the first place.

“A good friend” Harry said cautiously.

Remus looked positively devastated. “A good friend? James and Sirius are _family_! Why am I only ‘a good friend’?!” he yelled out.

James and Sirius looked at Harry, expecting an appropriate response for about two seconds, before filling the air with happy laughs and mentions of dogfathers. What was Harry supposed to say? That after his father’s death, Sirius slowly but surely became his father and after the torturously brutal, yet painless death of Sirius, Remus was there for him. That Remus felt like to closest thing to a father he never had? That he quite literally died to save everyone and if he had known that Remus would die in the battle, he would have sacrificed himself much sooner to spare his life?

Harry was at a loss of words. Not because he didn’t really have nothing to say, but because everything he wanted to say would give them information about the future they weren’t supposed to know anything about. There were so many things he wanted to tell them, but he simply couldn’t. Even mentioning why he needed a father figure would require him to explain why he was called The Boy Who Lived and none of the marauders were ready to deal with that yet!

Remus was just about to start ranting, when the door opened once again and Ron and Hermione entered. They were quiet for a while, simply looking at the mess; Sirius jumping on Ron’s bed, James now throwing the inside of Harry’s trunk at the cheering boy, Remus scowling, standing next to Harry’s bed and the Golden Boy on the floor, the book in his lap closed, clearly looking guilty.

“What happened?” Hermione asked.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Malfoy came by and may have accidentally revealed that Sirius is my godfather.”

“ _Dog_ father!” Sirius called in between jumps.

Hermione’s and Ron’s eyes grew big. Harry bit back a smile. The whole situation was weird and at the same time incredibly funny… Apparently, now everything seemed to be clearer.

“And I want to know what I am!” Remus frowned.

Hermione smiled warmly at their future/past professor. “The best and most honorable man and fa… friend any of us have ever known!”

Remus was still scowling, but looked hopefully at Hermione. She always knew how to save a situation. After a few moments, Remus was back smiling, even though Harry knew that he wanted to know more. He needed to be more cautious. Not only about what he was saying, but also what others around them were saying.

Maybe it would actually be easier to lock them in a tower and wait for the Time Turner to be rebuilt... Just a thought.


	17. Calling Time on Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's having another nightmare and get's woken up by Malfoy.

He hated it. The smell, the sounds, the knowledge of what was going to happen. The sun burned down on a few dead bodies. The grounds studded with blood, rubble and … people. Harry recognized Fred, Tonks and, weirdly enough, Sirius. Next to them were Ron and Hermione – both dead, open wounds all over their lifeless body and blood – which might not be theirs – all over them.

Harry fell to his knees. Hopelessness flooded over him. This was it! No reason to stay alive. He tried to tell himself that it wasn’t real. It was a dream. Ron was okay, probably snoring in the bed on the opposite wall, Hermione was on the other side, in the girl’s dormitory. Everything was going to be okay.

The heavy smell of disgusting earth, dirty smoke and death filled the air. He heard muffled voices, calling for help, screaming for him to come and rescue them. They needed him. They wanted him to finally sacrifice himself. He needed to die. For them. So they could live.

This time, _this time_ , Harry would choose death. What was he living for? Neville could kill the snake without his help, he was the last Horcrux. So… die he would. Finally getting this whole bullshit over with. Why should he stay alive anyway? No. Damn. Reason. To. Stay. Alive.

Harry just hoped that he could finally face Voldemort. That it wasn’t his usual nightmare.

He was on his way in the forbidden forest. Next stop; open the snitch, see his dead relatives, decide to go face Voldemort and finally end his life. He’d had it hard enough. No need for it to end on a high note. It never would. He would never be really happy, always haunted by Voldemort.

However, something was wrong: The snitch was missing. Harry looked all over for it. He couldn’t find it. Normally, he had it in his pocket, but now it was missing. He felt his heart beat up to his temples. These damn dreams! Always something new to haunt him! Harry cursed and looked at the floor. Maybe he let it fall? But no, nothing was there. How was he supposed to do this now? He couldn’t face Voldemort on his own, he needed the help. He always needed the help!

Suddenly, a calm presence seemed to appear right in front of him. It looked like the stone had worked somehow, but it wasn’t his father, Remus, Sirius or his mom who appeared. “Potter!” Harry opened his eyes wide and stared into Malfoy’s face, about to start screaming, when the clearly worried Slytherin hoisted him into a sitting position.

Harry buried his face in his hands and tried to calm his nerves. It was just a dream, just a dream. He remembered his missing snitch and started looking frantically all over his bed, grabbed his glasses and searched everything else.

“What are you looking for?” Malfoy asked, but Harry ignored him – not because he didn’t care what he asked, but because his words were completely missing. He couldn’t think clearly anymore. “Potter!”

“I…” Harry couldn’t talk, his voice was stuck somewhere inside his body. Nevertheless, he made a noise that somehow sounded like ‘snitch’. Malfoy put a hand on Harry’s shoulder and pointed at the round, golden ball on his bedside table.

Harry fell down onto his bed, shaking, grabbed a pillow and squeezed it over his head. Frustration, anxiety, and embarrassment washed over him. Clearly the best cocktail of emotions… When he finally removed the pillow, Malfoy was still sitting on his bed, looking worried.

“Why are you even awake?” Harry asked rather harshly.

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. “You’re silencing charm broke, you started talking about ending it. I was afraid you were actually going to do something stupid.”

“That’s not actually an answer to why you’re awake, but fine…”

The Slytherin smirked a little. “I’m trying to figure out which potion I’m going to teach you first. This whole teaching thing is harder than I expected.”

Harry sighed, but gave the man a small smile. “Well, yes, sure. And by the way, you don’t have to worry about me. It’s just my dreams.”

“What’s happening in them?”

Malfoy seemed genuinely interested and worried at the same time. Harry pulled his blanked back up to his shoulders and hid his face under the pillow once again. Why did he want to know? It was nothing really interesting! Just the usual nightmares, haunting him sometimes.

However, the Slytherin seemed so sincere that Harry couldn’t help, but explain a little bit. “Usually, I die. Or I’m going to meet Voldemort to die again. I’ll see everyone dear to me dead and in the end I decide that I have nothing left, so I’ll finally stay dead.” He explained, after he placed the pillow next to him on the bed. It felt weird talking to Malfoy about his nightmares, but he had been keeping it in for so long – not even Ron or Hermione had ever heard the stories of his nightmares – that it felt good to get it off his chest. 

“Do you ever actually meet the Dark Lord?” Malfoy asked cautiously.

“No” Harry sighed. “Usually I don’t. Some nightmares are different than others. But the normal ones just have me walk down memory lane through the forest and see me getting more and more desperate to finally die.” Harry rubbed his temples, a little bit frustrated. “It never happens.”

“I really don’t like the idea of some sort of nightmare like that!”

Harry laughed bitterly. “Neither do I. However, my dislike of them is not actually keeping them away. So… cheers to that.”

Malfoy shook his head. “You do realize that we have something called ‘Dreamless Sleep’, right? Why don’t you take a potion like that?”

Harry sat back up, feeling a little strange, with the Slytherin sitting on his bed and him lying there. He groaned, his frustration rising, and looked at the other man.

“When they were rebuilding Hogwarts, I was helping and after a few rough nights full of nightmares, I wasn’t all that concentrated and I… I accidentally injured Ginny. It wasn't serious, but after that I took that damn potion every night, sometimes more than one vial and I kind of became addicted to that stuff” Harry quietly explained.

Malfoy nodded. “It’s the betel nut. Can be really bad if you take more than one a night and if you continue taking the potions every night.”

Harry wanted to add that he wished he was better in potions, so he could have found out about that a little earlier. Maybe then he could still take Dreamless Sleep without fearing of getting back into his addiction. It had taken him almost all of august to finally stop feeling like shit every time he hadn’t taken a Dreamless Sleep Potion. At least his friends hadn’t questioned him; they were all way too deep into their own mourning processes. But, Harry said nothing of what was going through his mind, he simply stayed quiet.

“If… If you’d be interested…” Malfoy started a little flushed. “I have been experimenting with a Dreamless Sleep Potion without betel nuts, because a lot of people have complained about its addicting power. I have my first batch of Dreamless Sleep with French lavender finished. It’s even better for a deep sleep and the lavender quite literally relaxes you into sleep. I’ve been taking it for a few weeks and I haven’t yet found any unwanted side effects.”

He stopped, clearly embarrassed, before standing up and walking over to his bed. Harry didn’t know what to do or say. Sleeping without having to dream would be a nice change for once and not having to fear, falling back into the habits of needing a Dreamless Sleep Potion to even be able to lie down, would be amazing.

“Except for that you’re awake now” Harry said quietly, trying to hold back a smirk. If it really was working just like Malfoy said, why was he not sleeping through all of this?

The Slytherin rolled his eyes. “For your information, you moron, I was about to get a vial of Dreamless Sleep myself, before you started fussing. And we might not have been so close the last few years, but I thought we were getting towards a point where we could talk – yes, even at night – without it getting awkward.”

Harry desperately wanted to add that all their encounters had been awkward, but seeing as the former Death Eater was about to explode, he’d rather not say anything about that. Instead, he answered, before Malfoy got back into his bed. “It would be nice to sleep again for once.”

The Slytherin turned around, a little surprised and confused. “You’re sure?”

Harry nodded. “As long as you promise me that there are no ingredients that could give me another addiction. I mean I am sort of putting my trust and life into your hands.” He shook his head. “It feels really weird saying that.”

He could see how Malfoy tried to suppress another eye-roll. The Slytherin laughed quietly, shortly after. “It feels even weirder hearing that.” He walked over to his trunk and opened it to take out a small package with about a hundred vials. “I promise you there aren’t any addictive ingredients in here. Check for yourself, if you don’t think I’m saying the truth…”

“No, it’s… it’s fine” Harry interrupted.

The Slytherin stood there, looking at him a little taken aback. “Okay…” he seemed to be lost for words. “Here” he held out a small vial, which Harry took and downed at once.

He could see, Malfoy open his mouth smiling, probably for some sort of a comment, but shutting it almost immediately. He took the empty vial back and stored it away in his trunk, after everything else.

“Now what?”

The blond wizard shrugged his shoulders. “Now, enjoy your sleep.” He downed a vial as well and got back into bed.

Suddenly, Harry felt a comfortable, warm feeling flush through his veins. He fell back into his bed and within seconds, he was completely gone and felt peaceful, relaxed and calm. It was exactly what he needed.

*

The following day on the other hand was terrible. Not necessary because Harry’d had a nightmare – Malfoy’s potion actually did wonders. No, it felt more like impending doom; waiting for four o’clock. The marauders had to promise him not to tell anyone that he was going to see a Mind Healer – only for one session of course. First, they had tried to blackmail him into telling them something about their future. However, after Harry thought out loud which abandoned classroom would be the best option for a secret prison holding them for as long as the Time Turner wasn’t finished, they decided it was best for no one to know what Harry was up to. While Remus grabbed his friends to look for and distract Hermione and Ron in the library, Harry headed towards the Hospital Wing.

His heart was racing, his thoughts were all over the place and his hands trembling. He hated it. Why was he about to freak out going towards a Mind Healing session, but walking towards Voldemort had been okay?! Deep down he knew what the difference was. Half a year ago, he was ready to die. He knew he had to; without his sacrifice, the Horcrux inside him would have kept the dark wizard alive. This session, however,… was just terrifying.

As he turned a corner, he saw Malfoy casually leaning against a wall, reading a potions book. Harry pondered whether or not he should talk to him, but seeing that he only had to go two doors down and he was a little early, he stood next to the Slytherin.

“Making sure I’m actually going to the session and not getting cold feet?” he asked grinning.

Malfoy looked up from his book. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just here, reading a book.”

“Alone? Standing in an empty corridor? Five minutes before my session starts?”

“Coincidence. I just so happened to open my book here.”

“Yeah sure” Harry grinned. “You’re reading it upside down.”

Malfoy glanced at the book, rolled his eyes and closed it. “Yeah. No, I can’t justify that. Sorry, yes, I was spying on you.”

“And how is it going so far?”

The Slytherin smirked. “Incredibly well. I managed to get found out almost immediately.”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Some points for the future: Next time, sit on the floor in a comfortable reading position; maybe have some parchment with notes and a quill lying around. Looks more authentically.” He shook his head amused and started walking towards the room at the end of the hallway, before turning around to give Malfoy one last suggestion. “Oh, and maybe read your book like a normal human being would read them.”

The blond wizard rolled his eyes visibly annoyed, but he was grinning slightly. Harry continued walking towards the Mind Healer in a better mood than before.

“Duly noted, Mr. Superspy” Malfoy called after him, which earned him a chuckle and a short wave, before Harry entered the room on which the Mind Healer’s name was written.

The room was very neutral, with somewhat white-beige walls, a comfortable looking couch and two big wing chairs, next to a wooden table. The artwork on the walls reminded him of paintings of the Burrow.

“Mr. Potter” the woman at the desk smiled at him. She looked slightly older, light grey-brownish hair, but her blue eyes sparkled with life and her smile was honest and welcoming. Harry felt save and taken seriously almost immediately, even though he hadn’t said anything yet.

“Please take a seat” she said and stood up to close the door. Harry sat on the couch and waited nervously. She sat on one of the wing chairs and nodded. “Let me introduce myself: So, Mr. Malfoy might have already told you, but my name is Angelica White, you can call me Angelica. I’ve been a Healer for twenty years and decided that I’d rather heal the mind than the body. I’ve been here treating students ever since September.” She smiled softly. “Would you like to introduce yourself? Maybe what brought you here for a test session and what you want to gain from this healing process?”

Harry bit his lower lip. Yes, well… what did he want from this session? Would she be angry at him if he’d say that he didn’t want to come, but Malfoy made him? He decided to say nothing about the bet.

“Well, I’m Harry Potter and currently in the eighth year – repeating my seventh year, when I was out hunting…” Why did this always happen? Why did he always want to talk about the Horcrux hunt?! He was a little frustrated and decided to let to topic fall. “Well, I would like to have no more nightmares, which I hope can be achieved by therapy.”

Angelica smiled. Surely, she hadn’t missed the sentence Harry started, but she seemingly decided to let it go. They talked about the school subjects he liked and the ones he disliked. About his friends, that he didn’t really want to come back to Hogwarts, but that he didn’t know what else to do, so he decided to follow Hermione and Ron.

The hour was over really quickly. Harry didn’t even notice. Only when Angelica cast a tempus charm and told him, that they had to part ways, he realized that it went better than he had expected.

“If you feel up to it, I would like to see you again” Angelica smiled at him.

Harry bit his lower lip. He had a huge decision to make. Did he actually want to continue? It hadn't been as bad as he thought and even the damn nightmare version of Voldemort who had repeatedly told him that therapy was for weak people felt like a joke right now. On the other hand, it felt like Malfoy would win, if he would accept. However, he shouldn’t think about the former Death Eater. This was about him and what he wanted. So…?

“I think I would like to try for a few more weeks” Harry said carefully.

Angelica smiled widely. “Very well. I would like to see you twice a week. How about Monday and Thursday? Five to six?”

Harry nodded. Then he realized another problem. “Is there a possibility that nobody except us will know I’m in therapy? I don’t feel comfortable if anyone else knows.”

“Of course, Harry” Angelica nodded. “I have a deal with Professor McGonagall, where students who don’t want to have their identity known, simply have to sign with a number.”

Harry smiled thankfully. “I’ll see you next Monday then.”


	18. Bean Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Harry's therapy session, he meets Malfoy again on his way to dinner.

As soon as Harry left the room, he saw Malfoy sitting on the floor almost exactly where he had left him an hour and a half ago. He was surrounded by parchment, the potions book – still upside down – in his lap and a quill, with which he was playing in front of him. What was the Slytherin doing? He had apparently listened to all the details Harry had said and implemented everything exactly as mentioned. It was oddly charming and a little cute… Harry shook his head and frowned. What? What the hell was he thinking? That made absolutely no sense!

Shaking his head again, he walked up to the Slytherin, grinned and stood in front of him frowning until he looked up. The man on the floor didn’t get a chance to talk, as Harry spoke immediately.

“I don’t think that’s working out for a superspy. You look even more suspicious now than before.”

Malfoy laughed and shook his head. “Now what could you mean by that, Potter? I’ve been here studying on the floor, behaving exactly like any normal human being would.”

Harry smirked and pointed towards the book. “Except you’re still reading your book differently. And also, maybe you should get a satchel and ink, so it doesn’t just look like you’re walking around with nothing but a book, some parchment and a quill.”

“Well, I would have made a genius Ravenclaw!”

Harry chuckled. He felt so much lighter after the session; it was really interesting, and weird. Talking actually seemed to be helping. As well as seeing Malfoy trying to make him laugh. But he banished this thought to the back of his head rather quickly. The Slytherin got on his feet, gathering all his belongings.

“I don’t think you’d fit into Ravenclaw.”

Malfoy looked at him in a playfully flabbergasted expression and shook his head rather vehement. “How dare you! I would have been a model Ravenclaw student!”

“And you’d probably gotten disowned the day right after the sorting ceremony.”

This time, Malfoy started laughing and shoved Harry a little to the side. “You bet!”

They started walking towards the Great Hall, Harry asking how Malfoy had started with his experiments with the Dreamless Sleep Potion. Unsurprisingly, the Slytherin told him that he as well had come rather close to being addicted to this damn potion, but he had stopped before it had gotten too much and decided to brew something less addicting. 

Shortly before they reached the Great Hall, Malfoy stopped Harry. “Listen, I know I’m not supposed to know, but are you going to stay with Angelica?”

Harry could hear his worries. It felt bizarrely good to have someone actually care for him. “Yes. I think I should give her a try. Just so you know; I’m not fully convinced yet that therapy actually works.”

“Nor should you after just one session” Malfoy smiled sincerely. “It took me almost two months to understand how much it’s helping me.”

Harry frowned. Two months? Angelica said she was at Hogwarts for nearly two months… That was a little strange. Malfoy seemed to have realized that he confused Harry and he started to explain what he meant.

“While I was on trial, they had her assess me and I sort of stayed with her. I’m pretty sure McGonagall hired her just because she gave a super positive and sweet testimony.”

It would seem like something the headmistress would do, Harry had to agree with that. She always cared for all the students that lived through the war. There was another question in his mind which he just had to ask the blond wizard.

“So, I guess this was your plan?” Harry asked torn between grinning and an annoyed facial expression.

Malfoy seemingly tried to gauge his mixed facial expressions, before letting his eyes fall to the ground. Even though Harry could see him trying very hard to bite back a smirk, he wasn’t very successful.

“Maybe.”

Harry shook his head. “You really are a Slytherin.”

“Funnily enough, I do think you meant this as an insult, but I see it as a complement – for me as well as for the sorting hat.”

Harry couldn’t stay serious with that and he started chuckling. Malfoy looked at him a little surprised. He probably thought that Harry would fight him for such a proposition, not start laughing.

“It wasn’t an insult, Malfoy. It was merely a neutral statement.”

Before the real Slytherin could answer, they heard Ron calling out to Harry.

“Mate, where’ve you been? Sir… Simon told us you were by the lake, but when we tried to find you there, you were gone” Ron explained. 

Harry could see Hermione and the marauders behind them. Hermione eyed Malfoy rather quickly, before turning towards her friend. Harry wasn’t sure whether or not her eyeing the Slytherin was a bad thing. He had in fact apologized to her and unlike Ron, she did accept and forget. So it couldn’t have been bad.

“Sorry, Ron. I met Malfoy by the lake and we decided to go…”

“Look for a place where I could teach him potions” Malfoy interrupted Harry before he could finish his thoughts. To be honest, he had no idea what he was going to say, so the other man interrupting him had been rather great.

“Oh, that’s new!” Hermione smiled broadly. “So, you’ve decided to improve your potions skills? Why didn’t you ask me? I could have helped as well!”

Harry hesitated. Yes, Hermione had offered more than once to help him in potions, but only without this damned fifth year, he would have said yes. Right now, all he could think of was to say that Malfoy wouldn’t judge him for actually knowing something about a potion. He did know that, if he had said it – in front of the marauders and the Slytherin – she would have either ice-cold ignored him for the rest of their school year possibly or hexed him right there and then. None of those two options seemed to be what he wanted to happen. Luckily, he got backup from an unexpected source.

“Well, Granger, I did offer to teach him potions in return for him teaching me DADA” Malfoy added.

No one spoke for a few seconds. Harry was really grateful for Malfoy’s rescue; however, it didn’t last long, before Ron had another question.

Ever the sceptic, he asked: “So, where are you going to teach him?”

This time, Malfoy froze just a little. But ever since he had said something about a place, Harry had known exactly which room he was going to mention. So, without missing a heartbeat, he answered.

“There’s this small abandoned classroom we found. It has all kinds of old books about DADA and potions and even some cauldrons. I’m still thinking we should use that one.”

Malfoy seemed to have realized which room they were talking about. They were hiding there for a while, after all and Harry did teach him a little bit about the Patronus. The Slytherin wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “And I’ve told you, that we need to look for another room. Under no circumstance will I be teaching you in a room full of dead insects, rotten vegetables and spider webs!”

Harry laughed. He relaxed as he saw, how all of his friends believed them. “Well, I did offer to clean first, if you’d get some of the equipment we’d need.”

“It’s still a hard ‘No’.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and nudged Ron with her towards the Great Hall. They both seemed to believe that they’d had this discussion over the last few hours. The marauders on the other hand, who knew exactly where Harry had been, just stood there, looking at the remaining students in front of them.

“You guys are amazing!” James said a bit proud and in what seemed to be a burst of honesty. Harry laughed and breathed out loudly.

“No, honestly!” even Sirius interposed. He looked really impressed. “Not even _we_ would have been that believable in our days!”

“That’s because everybody always knew you guys were up to no good” Harry grinned. The marauders eyed him suspiciously, probably because he had accidentally cited the spell for the marauder’s map… He had completely forgotten that Malfoy didn’t know anything about their real identities.

Not until he spoke up next. “What do you mean with ‘in our days’?” he asked visibly confused.

Harry froze, map completely forgotten, and had no idea how to answer. Neither did James or Sirius. As usual though, Remus came to aid.

“In our days, when we were either home schooled or sent to Beauxbatons, we always tried to prank some people, but it never really worked out in our favor. Or we had been caught more times than not.”

Malfoy nodded and smiled. “Well, if you’ve never done anything bad or if the others don’t know you that well, people are bound to believe everything you tell them.”

They walked towards the Great Hall, following the two other Gryffindors. The only Slytherin in their group still decided to ask the marauders some more questions. Harry wished, he could just… tell him. It would make all of this so much easier. The only problem: No one would have agreed with him telling Malfoy.

“How can your French be that bad?! Do you honestly think that _baguette_ means ‘good morning’?” Harry got pulled out of his daydreams. The Slytherin turned to him incredibly confused and shocked. Harry on the other hand caught James’ grin and realized they were taking Malfoy for a ride.

“I’m pretty sure, they’re joking” he smirked and shook his head.

“We were home schooled, we actually don’t know that much French! Classes were a nightmare” Remus added, which only baffled the Slytherin more.

“You lived in France for almost fourteen years! And you don’t know any French?!”

“Don’t take them serious, Malfoy.” He could see Sirius wanting so say something. Reacting quickly, he threw him a stinging hex. Sirius opened his mouth in shock, before rubbing his knee. 

The blond wizard narrowed his eyes and glared at all the marauders. Harry laughed and dragged him into the Great Hall, where he let him go. He really didn’t want the Slytherin to feel like he had been dragged to Harry’s table. It didn’t feel right. Even though he sat at their table more often than not, he didn’t want him to feel pressured into it.

As he sat down next to Hermione ad Remus, and James and Sirius next to Ron, McGonagall walked by. She stopped behind Ron, who jumped when she spoke up, as he hadn’t heard her approaching.

“I would like to see you three” she pointed at the Golden Trio. “As well as the transfer students in my office after dinner.”

They nodded, a little confused about what was going to happen.

“Bloody hell! What’d you reckon she wants?” Ron asked. Malfoy sat down next to them, a little guarded. Harry frowned and looked for something that could have caused it, when he saw three Slytherin students, grinning almost devilishly and hiding their wands. He would have loved to say something, but anything he could think of saying, would’ve just made it worse.

“I’m not so sure, but I mean, 4th November will be in almost a week” Hermione said thoughtfully.

“Why’s that supposed to be important?” Ron frowned. “Maybe it’s something about the Time Tur…”

Malfoy raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “I’m pretty sure I heard my father talk about how someone destroyed all the Time Turner and that someone being Harry Potter. Truly, you should know, Weasel, as I don’t see him going somewhere without you.”

The marauders looked at Harry, probably confused as to why he would destroy Time Turners and maybe even a little frustrated, that he actually had destroyed them all. If he hadn’t, they would have been home by now.

Ron blushed. “I’ll have you know that…”

“Ronald!” Hermione interrupted him und rolled his eyes. “Just start eating and let it go.”

Harry gave the Slytherin student a little shove and when he looked up, he shook his head. Hopefully he understood that Harry wasn’t okay with him insulting his friends, even though he was sort of correct. He had in addition realized rather quickly what Hermione meant by next week. “Next week’s problematic for Moony.”

Remus looked up, quite surprised. “How do you know about it? And why aren’t any of you scared…?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “What you are doesn’t define you.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Malfoy wincing and quietly eating his dinner. Harry bit his lower lip. He needed to help the other man. At least with his confidance, so that he could start live his life again. Therapy helped him probably just as well, however, Harry knew he could maybe help him even a little more. Time would tell.


	19. Some Events are in due Course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the Golden Trio and the marauders finish their meeting with McGonagall, Harry decides to spend some time in his dormitory.

When Harry, followed by Hermione, Ron and the marauders, entered the headmistress’ office, the room was illuminated by a silvery shining calendar floating in the middle, depicting the moon phases over the next few months. It started with full moon on 4th November and ended with the 2nd March. Harry frowned as he saw the end date. Weren’t they supposed to be back in their time by March? The ministry gave them about three months, not almost 5.

McGonagall was missing from the office, so they just stood around awkwardly. The marauders made all kind of assumptions about the two empty portrait frames (more about the second one), while Hermione traced the book titles in McGonagall’s private library on the right side of the office. A lot of them seemed to be about time travel and Time Turners this time around. Ron tried to sneak some sweets, which the head teacher must have kept around in remembrance of Dumbledore. 

And Harry, he eyed the Sorting Hat, thinking about how everything had started. If he hadn’t heard Malfoy talking about how great Slytherin would be and how every house was supposedly below their standard or how Ron had said that only bad wizards went to that house – which let’s face it, is absolutely bullshit – he would have been sorted into the snake house without a doubt. Harry Potter – Slytherin student. It didn’t even feel that wrong anymore.

At the sorting earlier this year, the Sorting Hat made a point in reminding them all that it was not important what other people thought of you, but what you thought about yourself and what you’d make with it. He had then listed every house and their best qualities, as well as some honor students in each house who represented those qualities best. Unsurprisingly, he mentioned the Golden Trio, Neville and Ginny in Gryffindor. Harry was convinced that it should have mentioned basically every eighth year Gryffindor, since they all fought in the battle. In Ravenclaw it was Luna, and Padma, for Hufflepuff the hat mentioned Hannah Abbott, Megan Jones and a fifth year called Lydia Good. To everyone’s surprise, among the mentioned Slytherins, the hat also called out Draco Malfoy.

Right now, Harry understood why the Hat had mentioned him. He had cheated Harry into therapy and now he was thinking about staying there – maybe. This was how ‘cunning’ and ‘manipulative’ could be useful tools for something good.

His thoughts were interrupted when McGonagall entered the room, followed by Slughorn. The potions professor carried a small, open container with seven vials in it, all of them with a bluish color.

“Ah, you’re here already. Very good” McGonagall smiled. “I have some bad news and some… interesting news”

“We should start with the bad one” Ron decided rather quickly for everyone. McGonagall agreed.

“The ministry owled me an hour ago. The Unspeakables have been working on rebuilding your Time Turner for the past few days nonstop, but they can’t figure out what’s broken…”

“I’d start with the small golden thing that fell off, obviously” James grinned, but got serious right after the headmistress’ eyes practically shot daggers at him.

“… so, they’re going to extend your stay for at least another month” she finished her statement. The room was so quiet you could have heard a feather float to the ground.

“Are we… are we ever going to get back?” Sirius asked. Harry was surprised. Out of all of them, he would have guessed Remus or James to ask that question not his godfather.

“The possibility remains” McGonagall simply answered.

“Possibility for what? To go home or the stay here?!”

“Both, I’m afraid, Mr. Black.”

Again, silence fell over the room. It was an uncomfortable silence, in which Slughorn cought slightly more than once.

“So, what’s the interesting news?” James asked quietly.

McGonagall nodded, as if she was happy to move on from such a depressing topic. “Indeed. Mr. Lupin, all of us in this room are aware, that you have a rather problematic condition.” Remus bit his lips and stared to the ground.

"It's not his fault!" James shouted out and Sirius was also just about to scream something on his friend's behalf, when McGonagall shook her head.

“I’m not saying this to make you feel uncomfortable or because I think you've caused this. There is a potion to help you cope with being a werewolf.”

Remus widened his eyes. Harry could see a flicker of hope in his eyes. However, McGonagall must have seen it as well. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lupin, it doesn’t heal you from being a werewolf, it makes you less dangerous in your transformed state. It will give you your sanity back and make you sleep through the full moon, still transformed, I’m afraid.”

Remus nodded hesitantly. Still, McGonagall wasn’t finished. “I wouldn’t normally give it to a student from the past, seeing as though, when you go back in time, you have to cope without the potion again. You also are not allowed to mix the potion with anything else, it renders it ineffective. So you have to stay in the Shrieking Shack for a week, as Remus Lupin not Richard Limus.”

Everyone in the office was quiet. There were so many things happening. What should they say to the other students? Was Remus going to accept the potion, even though he had to cope without it upon arriving in the past?

McGonagall explained even more things. “I would strongly advise you to take said potion. We have a lot of students here and for their safety, as well as yours, it would seem best. Your friends can still meet you in the Shrieking Shack during full moon; they will however only find a sleeping wolf.”

“Wait; hold on… how do you know about…” James frowned, unwilling to finish his sentences.

“That you’re unregistered Animagi?” the headmistress asked smiling. “I may have found out a couple of years ago.”

“So, not while we were still in school?” Sirius asked.

McGonagall shook her head. “No. However, it was definitely _not_ obvious, how many questions I had to answer theoretically about how to become an Animagus and what would happen if _theoretically_ an Animagus dog ate chocolate and then transformed back. Your scenarios were always so specific that I had always suspected something.”

“But you never had any proof!” Sirius grinned.

“I’ll take the potion” Remus interrupted the discussion about Animagi and nodded towards Slughorn.

McGonagall nodded. “It’s called the Wolfsbane Potion.”

She turned to Slughorn to explain the details. He presented Remus with the seven flasks with bluish liquid. “You will need to drink one flask a day. If you miss one, the potion will lose its effect and you will transform into a raging werewolf instead.”

Remus accepted the little box and McGonagall addressed him once again. “This potion will not have been invented when you return.” The fifth year student nodded.

“What are you going to say about Richard Limus missing class?” he asked cautiously.

The head teacher smiled encouraging. “Don’t worry, Mr. Lupin. We won’t make the same excuse every time. This month you’ve been infected with a very contagious disease. So we had to bring you to St. Mungo’s.”

*

They left the headmistress’ office, Remus hiding his potions, his friends walking ahead of him. There were no problems on the way and they reached their dormitory rather quickly. Hermione was soon off for a special meeting for Head Boy and Girl as well as Prefects. Ron decided to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice – there was a big game on Saturday: Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. He wanted Harry to watch the practice as well, but left alone as Harry wasn’t feeling all too well.

He opened the door to his dormitory, dragged himself to his bed and fell onto it. He was somehow feeling dead. Just tired and about to fall asleep, even though he hadn’t done that much.

“Funny seeing you here” an all too familiar voice said.

Harry stemmed himself up with his elbows and looked over to Malfoy’s bed where he sat, reading that book again.

“Funny? I live here” Harry responded and after the Slytherin failed to say anything, he fell back onto the bed, head turned, so he could watch him.

It was quiet for a few moments, until Malfoy turned his head into Harry’s direction, frowning. “I really don’t feel comfortable, being watched, Potter. Can’t you look to your right?”

Harry grinned. “No.”

The Slytherin rolled his eyes. “Why not?”

“Too tired. And too lazy.”

Surprisingly, Malfoy grinned back. “Well, if you keep looking, I’ll start reading you my book, so I don’t feel watched.”

Harry got back on his elbows and frowned. “If you’re reading a book and I’ll look at you, I’m still watching you. That doesn’t make any sense.”

The Slytherin smirked. “Sure it does! If I read you a story and you’re watching me, I know you’re interested. If you keep looking into a different direction, you’re bored.”

“Alright. What’s the book about?” Harry asked a little interested.

“It’s called _Wizards’s Hell_. It’s about all kinds of different scenarios from the Middle Ages to now when wizards thought they were going to die or something bad was going to happen, only for them to find a way out of their situation.”

Harry nodded and smirked. “I guess the new version of this book will have Voldemort’s rise and fall in it.”

“You want to be in a book?” Malfoy asked. “Why don’t you just write one?”

Harry chuckled as he fell back onto his bed. “Not really my top priority right now. Maybe in a few years, when nobody remembers my name. Then I’ll be so desperate for attention that I’ll write a book about my life.”

"I don't think people will ever forget your name!" Malfoy seemed to assess whether or not Harry was joking, seemingly deciding he was and added something himself. “If you are, though, please let me write the foreword!”

Harry started laughing loudly and hid his face in the blanket for a while. When he looked at the Slytherin again, he caught him grinning widely as well. “You have my permission to write the foreword for my book. I’m pretty sure that everyone’ll buy _that_ book!”

“I should start my pages right now!” Malfoy said grinning.

“Please don’t!”

Harry watched as he turned back to his book and flipped a page. He glanced over to Harry, rolled his eyes and started reading aloud.

> _How Muggles almost discovered wizards and witches_
> 
> _The lesser known wizard, Bloise Nort, had always been obsessed with Muggles. In his early days, in 1748, he had decided to visit his Muggle girlfriend Anna Adams and ask her father for her hand in marriage. The old Mr. Adams had never seen Bloise work and had no idea how he could have afforded all of the presents he had given his love interest – all of which were worth about fifty galleons._
> 
> _He had refused to give him his blessing and unable to handle such a rejection, Bloise decided to simply kidnap his object of desire, as well as her father. In the following five days, not only did the Aurors try to find the wizard, but the Muggle equivalent of Aurors as well. Neither the Aurors nor the Muggle counterpart had any success, until, on the sixth day, Bloise demolished the house where he had been keeping the two Muggles._
> 
> _A wave of magic burst through the houses in the neighborhood causing their inhabitants to suffer unknown effects. To the Muggles, most of the affected people seemed to be crazy and they confined them to a place they thought would supposedly heal them. In reality, those people had gotten the side-effects of Oleander mixed together with the deadly Nightshade. While the house exploded, the potion containing these two deadly ingredients reacted with the heat, creating a new hyper addicting substance that, if ingested, could lead to visions as well as death._
> 
> _The Muggles, who had felt the effects, were all ruled unstable, as they were seeing visions of the Wizarding World. Soon after, the Aurors could break through to the place they were held and obliviated them, so they could die in peace._

Harry frowned when Malfoy stopped talking and flipped the page. “Well, that was depressing. Are all of these stories like the one you just read?”

“No” he looked at the page deep in thought. After a while, he turned around. “It’s actually the most depressing story I’ve read so far.”

“Oh well then, thank you for taking me on that ride with you. I feel so much better now” Harry grinned.

“It’s not like I decided to read you to most depressing story, you Chosen Idiot!”

Harry laughed and rolled on his back. He stared at the ceiling for a while, before feeling Malfoy looking at him. “Okay, first you don’t want me to watch you and now you’re watching me? I’m sorry, but I don’t have a book with depressing stories I can read you.”

“It’s not…” the Slytherin huffed and shook his head clearly annoyed. Harry simply grinned and turned his head, so he could see the Slytherin close his book. “An eye for an eye, Potter. You tell me a story.”

The Gryffindor sat up and looked at Malfoy surprised. “I… I don’t know any. I don’t have any books with stories.”

“Then tell me something.”

Harry frowned and stared at the ceiling. What should he tell Malfoy? And also, why should he tell him anything anyway? He could just as well make something up. However, the Slytherin had told him an interesting story; he should at least try and do the same. Which also meant, stating the truth.

“I know something: Would you believe me, that Ron and I have seen the Slytherin Common Room?” he asked grinning.

Malfoy blinked surprised. “Wait, really? How did that happen?”

Harry chuckled shortly. “Do you maybe remember after Halloween in second year, when Crabbe and Goyle waited in front of your Common Room?”

“Yeah?”

“It wasn’t them” Harry said smirking.

Malfoy shook his head. “Potter, I have no idea what you’re saying. I was there and I saw them both entering… Hold on, how do you know that I remember that?”

“Because Malfoy; Ron was disguised as Crabbe and I pretended to be Goyle. We took Polyjuice Potion!” He explained when the Slytherin still looked like he couldn’t understand the world anymore.

“You… what?! Why? And how did you have access to that potion?!” His brain didn’t seem to be working efficiently anymore.

Harry smiled. “Hermione brew it.” Malfoy opened his mouth, unable to form any words and closed it again. “And as to why; we thought you knew something about the heir of Slytherin, so we decided to investigate.”

“By Salazar! I would have probably killed you, if I had found out!” Malfoy said surprised.

“I don’t think you would have gone that far.”

“Who knows, Potter! I was really proud of no blood-traitor being in Slytherin. I would have killed Weasley and you as well, probably... How did you know the password?” he asked, before he remembered the situation. “I found you outside!”

Harry started laughing. Malfoy looked positively traumatized – in a good way.

The Slytherin shook his head and grinned a bit. “Okay, Potter. You win. Your story was by far better than mine.”

"Yeah, well with all those depressing stories in your book, any..."

"Potter! It's the only real depressing story in this whole book! Stop saying it as if I like depressing stuff, it's annoying and I hate it!" Malfoy threw his book at Harry, who caught it before it hit his head. Harry chuckled and tossed it back onto the Slytherin's bed.

“You know what? For next time, I’ll get a Muggle children’s book with a lot of fairytales. That way I’ll always win!”

“Why would I listen to Muggle fairytales?!”

Harry chuckled. “’Cause you’re interested, even though your pure-blood wizard status tells you not to be.”

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, but shrugged his shoulders. “I’m open to new experiences.”


	20. Early Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wakes up early and decides to work on an essay in the Common Room, where he meets Hermione.

Harry was scared. It was Thursday night and Malfoy had decided yesterday that they wouldn’t take the potion today or rather tonight. The problem with untested potions was that you shouldn’t take them all the time, he had explained. After Harry had argued that he didn’t want to go without it, because what would happen if exactly in that very night, there would be the worst nightmare ever happening?

In the end, they had settled for them both not taking the potion on Thursday night, which was exactly when Malfoy wasn’t taking it. This was in case Harry would wake up screaming and the other man could maybe help him.

Neither of them had said the last bit, but Harry knew they both knew it. So tonight, they both weren’t taking Malfoy’s original Dreamless Sleep Potion, which was why he was so scared.

Interestingly enough, he found Malfoy that night already in bed with a similar, angsty expression. They’d been roommates for less than a week and Harry could already tell what was going through the blond’s mind. At least when he wasn’t hiding it behind his very perfect, guarded mask he was wearing more often than not.

“So, what nightmares are haunting you, Malfoy?” he asked both curious and worried.

“There’s a wide range, Potter” Malfoy said, clearly trying his best to sound as if he was joking. His trembling voice gave him away way too easy.

“Name one” Harry encouraged him. “You know one of my nightmares; I kind of want to know one of yours.”

Malfoy rolled his eyes annoyed, but apparently still decided to answer. “These days, it’s either me actually killing Dumbledore and the old man cursing me with something or the Dark Lord killing my parents after I fail to kill.” Harry thought that the Slytherin was just about to mention another scenario, but he bit it back. He had been more emotional, even in the DADA lesson of this evening and had almost forgotten the chocolate Harry had given him. However, he had produced a beautiful Patronus without any problems and Harry decided not to question him about it.

Harry sighed. “You would think that now that Voldemort is dead, he wouldn’t have any power over us ever again.”

“I actually find that people tend to be more powerful in dreams, especially bad people” Malfoy answered. He looked tired, even though he’d definitely slept last night. It was probably the anticipation of the nightmares.

Before they could talk more about nightmares, Ron walked in happily whistling a tune for the first time since the war had started, yawned and climbed into bed. “Turn those bloody lights off” he growled.

Harry smirked and did so with wandless magic, then climbed into his own bed and prepared for a horrible night.

In the end, it wasn’t all that bad; it had been his usual nightmare: fighting, the Battle of Hogwarts, dead people and the general hopeless feeling in the air.

When morning arrived, Harry woke up earlier than usual – which already was early. He casted a tempus charm and sighed quietly. It was four in the morning. The bed had become very uncomfortable, he tried to fall asleep again, but nothing worked. So, he got up, dressed himself as quietly as he could and grabbed his potions essay, before sneaking out and up the stairs to the Common Room.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione sat by the fire, staring into the dancing flames, lost in thoughts. Harry sat down on the couch, which made his best friend jump a little.

“Harry! How are you doing?” she smiled tired. “Why are you awake at such an ungodly hour?”

He smiled back softly. “The better question would be; when have you last slpet in your own bed?”

Hermione rubbed her forehead and stifled a yawn. “I don’t think I’ve ever slept in the new bedrooms” she admitted. Of course she was aware that Harry knew of this fact. They had met each other on their sleepless nights quite a lot. Just as much as they had spent time with Neville, when he returned from his walks.

“Maybe a sleeping potion would help?” suggested Harry for the hundredth time. Hermione would always say No and get some Pepper Up Potion, mixed together with some coffee.

This time she ignored his advice, which wasn’t uncommon, and started another topic. “Do you think we could have saved him?” she asked. Harry saw some tears, ready to fall any second now.

“Who, Hermione?” There were so many people that dead that she couldn’t just refer to a _him_ and expect him to know exactly who she was talking about.

“Fred.”

Harry was just about to place his parchment on the table, but stopped for a few seconds in the middle of that action. He placed it very carefully on the table in front of him and looked at his best friend. “Hermione, you shouldn’t think about it! Trust me when I tell you this; it’s not good for your sanity and I’m already doing this for the two of us.”

She smiled weakly and tired, before wiping a tear from her eyes. “I worry about Ron. He has so much anger in his mind now. That’s why he’s always mad at Malfoy; it’s his own way of dealing with it. I’m sure he’s not actually angry, just…”

“Just broken” Harry finished her sentence. “Exactly like the rest of us, ‘Mione.”

She simply nodded.

“He was whistling, by the way” he continued quietly. Hermione’s eyes grew wide and she opened her mouth in surprise.

“When?”

“Last night, when he came into the dormitory. He was whistling. I haven’t heard him do that since… I don’t know when! But a long time ago.”

They were both happy, that Ron was probably starting to feel better. But then, they were quiet again. After a while, Hermione started talking, her eyes locked on the flames.

“I worry about you as well. Having your dad and friends around is hurting you; I can see and feel it. Every time you look at them, it’s like your heart is ripped into tiny pieces.”

Harry had to bite his lower lip until it was almost bleeding, so he wouldn’t start sobbing right here. Yes, it felt horrible, seeing them, but it was actually getting easier. Hopefully.

“Just so you know” he started to distract himself. “I worry about you too. I haven’t seen you sleep once since the end of September. I know it’s hard to relax, but you can’t live of Pepper Up Potions and caffeine forever.”

Hermione rubbed her eyes and sighed. “What if I fall asleep and something important happens?”

“Like what?” Harry asked and frowned. “A new book for our N.E.W.T.s being published? A professor deciding to give us some more homework or another essay?”

His best friend shrugged her shoulders. He knew it wasn’t that. He had just said it to ease her into the topics that she was probably afraid of.

He felt his eyes water as he started again; with the real bad things. “Or us getting attacked? Finding another hiding place for a damn Horcrux? Running for our lives at any second? Ron coming back with the Sword of Gryffindor? Getting food somewhere where no one’s looking for us?”

He saw tears stream down her face and could feel the same happening to him. They smiled at each other warmly, wiped the tears away and turned to the fire. Hermione cast a wandless spell so the flames were transforming into a story. It had become their tradition: Whenever they couldn’t sleep and met on their nightly trips, one of them would bring a story to life using fire.

“I feel bad sometimes” she whispered after a few minutes, “for wishing I should have never become friends with Ron or you, so I wouldn’t feel the pain I’m feeling right now.”

Harry didn’t know how to respond to that. He wasn’t angry at her, but he had no words left, no idea how to comfort her.

“I’m sorry, I…” Hermione started and wiped another tear off her face rather aggressively. “It’s not fair to condemn you for something you had no power over.”

He smiled, got up and hugged her tightly. “No worries, ‘Mione. Sometimes I wish I was on my own as well, just so no one else would have gotten hurt. Truth be told, tough, I wouldn’t have survived a second without you.”

They were interrupted by another voice and turned around to see Neville – just coming back after he’d undoubtedly walked to grounds to either clean off the graffiti or plant some more flowers. “Can I also get an invitation for this party? I’m pretty sure I could use a hug as well.”

Harry smiled. “Sure thing, Nev.”

The Gryffindor walked over and basically fell into Harry’s hug. Hermione got up and hugged the two boys as well. They stayed like this for quite some time, no one willing to be the first one letting go. Finally, after the longest time, they seemed to let go at the exact same time.

Neville sat on the couch next to Harry, once they separated again. Hermione seated herself in her favorite armchair again.

“How’s the graffiti coming along?” she asked and leaned back.

“It’s almost gone” Neville explained. He looked a little sad. “Once it’s gone, I’m not sure what I’m going to do on my sleepless nights.”

“Sit by the fire” Harry suggested grinning.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but mocked Harry right back. “Visiting the owlery and talking to the birds.”

“I’m not talking to the birds!” Harry stopped her.

Neville snorted. “Thank you for such original suggestions! I’m pretty sure those places are already occupied by _some_ people.”

They talked about some more places where they knew, eighth year students were hiding out and trying to forget the war. Suddenly, Harry decided he needed a comfort drink and summoned Kreacher, apologized for the early hour and asked him if could bring them some hot chocolate. He most certainly could.

Soon, they were sitting by the fire, a mug of hot chocolate in their hands and a pot of the drink on the table as well as some more mugs. 

Neville started talking about the flowers he had planted and that now, with winter on its way, he couldn’t figure out how to keep them from dying. None of them had a good idea, not even Hermione.

“I would use the immortality spell” a voice suggested. They turned around to see Malfoy. “Sorry, I… I just heard you talking. I’ll be going now.”

“Nonsense, Malfoy. No need to go” Neville stopped the Slytherin, before he could walk away. “We’ve got plenty of space for another restless survivor.”

Malfoy accepted hesitantly and sat down in an armchair opposite Neville and Harry, eventually. Neville looked at the newly addition curiously.

“So, an immortality spell? What is it and how does it work?”

Hermione looked at him very interested as well. “And how do you know about such a spell? I have never read anything about something like that.”

“It literally immortalizes flowers. They’ll survive every winter and even an apocalypse” he explained. “The spell is _Immortalifico_ and when you point your wand at it, those flowers are never going to die or lose their blossoms.” He smiled at Hermione. “As for why I know of such a spell: It’s a pure-blood secret. The Malfoy cemetery only has those flowers.”

“You have a family cemetery?” Hermione asked surprised.

The Slytherin grinned. “Well, yes. Apparently, Malfoys have always been snobs, feeling as if they’re superior to everyone else. So, we also needed a private cemetery.”

“If it’s a pure-blood secret, how come Neville hasn’t heard of it?” Harry asked and looked to his friend, a bit confused.

“To be honest, I’ve never really visited a cemetery, my parents are in St. Mungo’s and not…” realizing what he was about to say, he shut his mouth and looked over to Harry apologizing.

“Dead” Harry finished his sentence. He could feel everybody’s eyes on him, but decided to stare into the fire instead.

They stayed quiet again, Malfoy grabbing some hot chocolate as well, the rest simply enjoying the intimacy of the moment. Hermione suddenly casted a tempus charm and revealed it to be half past five. Harry was surprised. It hadn’t felt like he was talking with Hermione – and later the others – for over an hour.

Out of the blue, the door to the boy’s dormitory opened and Ron walked into the Common Room. His eyes were, for the first time ever since Fred’s death, not red. He scanned the assembly and narrowed his eyes, when he saw Malfoy. The Slytherin was wriggling about on his armchair uncomfortably and was just about to get up, when Ron walked closer and sat down next to him in another wing chair.

“Why did no one tell me you’re having another secret meeting for restless souls?” he asked nonchalant and grabbed a mug and some hot chocolate as well.

Harry grinned, a little surprised at how uninterested Ron was that Malfoy was a part of their so called secret meeting. “It’s because you were sleeping when the session started.”

Ron looked a little offended. “You guys have hot chocolate! I would have woken up any time for some hot chocolate!”

“Well, you obviously did” Malfoy said, a little hesitant with his joke, but Ron simply smirked, which made the Slytherin relax a little more.

Neville turned towards him again. “Malfoy, I actually have another question about this immortality thing: Is it any different to tend to immortal flowers than tending to normal ones?”

Ron looked a little surprised at the topic, but apparently simply decided to sit there and listen, as the man explained the difference.

“It is. Because those flowers never die, they get infested very quickly. Especially during the winter; they emit warmth, so that they don’t die and the snow around them melts. Some insects tend to live in there over the winter, so they don’t die.”

“And what do you do then?” Neville asked curiously.

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. “Mortalize them again, set them on fire, throw them away and plant new ones which you immortalize once again.”

Neville frowned. “That sounds like a lot of work for not such a big outcome.”

“Well, you have to change them about every five years. If you check them constantly the whole winter, you should be good for about six to seven years.”

Harry could tell that Neville was seriously considering immortalizing some flowers. “Maybe you should talk to Professor Sprout, she might be able to help decide, seeing that she’s probably the one who has to check them all the time once you’re gone.” Neville nodded and was lost in thought again.

Hermione got up and walked over to Ron to sit on his lap. “How are you doing, darling?” she asked quietly. However, with Neville thinking and Malfoy staring into the fire, everyone could hear them talking – at least the one who listened.

“Okay” Ron smiled and kissed her softly.

“Which is so a hundred times better than your _I don’t know_ s” Hermione said happily and kissed him again.

Harry looked away and bit his lip. It wasn’t the first time he’d been jealous. Not because he wanted to be in a relationship with any of them, but because he wanted something they had. A true relationship. Someone to stay by his side no matter what happened. With him being The Boy Who Lived, he was probably never going to get an honest relationship. Maybe Ginny would have been the one, but with her being gay it wasn’t fair to not give her a happy ending. Even if it meant, that he would maybe never get one.

“Are you okay?” a voice sounded through his thoughts. Harry looked up to find that Malfoy had changed his armchair and was now sitting in the one Hermione had vacated, looking at him in concern.

“I… yeah” he answered and grabbed another hot chocolate.

They were interrupted by another door opening and Dean walking in with a very tired looking Seamus in tow. “Hey guys” Dean grinned and sat down in the chair, Malfoy had sat in, before changing. The other boy lay down on one of the furry rugs in front of the fire and closing his eyes again.

“Did you drag him out of bed?” Harry asked half amused and looked back at the half asleep Gryffindor on the floor.

Dean shrugged his shoulders. “It’s almost six o’clock. And I know Seamus can’t sleep in his dorm, so I thought he might be able to sleep here.” He looked at the man. “Obviously I didn’t mean for him to sleep on the floor, but…”

Another door opened, this time it was the girl’s dormitory and Hanna Abbott, followed by Millicent Bulstrode and Lily Moon walked out into the Common Room.

“Oh, and I thought we were the only people awake that early” Millicent said and smiled.

Harry chuckled. “Did you really think that?” She shook her head and winked at him. He rolled his eyes, but smirked. “We have hot chocolate, if you’d like some.”

“Hell yes!” Lily almost tripped over the Gryffindor on the floor, but caught herself. She grabbed two mugs and filled them both. Hanna came closer a little hesitant.

“I don’t think there’s any space left. So, I’ll be…”

Lily glared at her. “Nonsense! Longbottom, scooch over!” She grabbed Hanna, as Neville blushed, when he realized what was happening and made some more space on the couch.

“If any more people are coming, Potter might have to sit on Draco’s lap” Millicent suggested grinning devilishly.

“Why don’t _you_ sit on his lap?!” Harry asked quickly, trying his hardest to hide the heat in his face and most certainly ignoring Malfoy next to him.

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, the entire eighth year travelled to the Common Room, talking, drinking hot chocolate from a pot which seemed to magically refill itself and finally joking again, as if nothing ever happened.

It sounded and looked like a regular year, but they were all hiding their pain and suffering, chatting about non important topics and stupid jokes. Harry knew that it was okay, for now. But he wanted to change that. For one, he was surprised to see how Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor could fill one room and talk, joke and be happy. This needed to be preserved. And two, he was sure that he could help them somehow to feel human again. But definitely not right now. Right now, he could enjoy the secret meeting.


	21. Was it a bad Time?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus is 'imprisoned' in the Shrieking Shack and when Harry comes to visit him, he sees a change in his chracter.

Remus sat in the Shrieking Shack, trying to ignore the constant movements, and focussed on his DADA essay instead. He wanted to write about the origins of Patronuses ; however, there was no written down history about how they came to be. Maybe he should have chosen another topic for the essay, seeing as they could have chosen anything that was symbolizing a protection or shield.

Suddenly, he heard movement and waited quietly, who would be entering the haunted shack. A dark head of unruly hair appeared at the entrance of the only cleaned room.

“James, I…” Remus realized immediately that this wasn’t Prongs, but his son. “Oh… Hi Harry.”

The wizard entered and smiled weakly. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Well, apart from that I feel like a prisoner and being tortured by that disgusting potion, quite good.”

Harry chuckled. “Yeah, sorry about that. Anything I can do to help you somehow?”

Remus shook his head, but smiled. He really liked Harry. The man seemed to care about everyone. From what he understood, the blond wizard had given them a hard time in the past, but James’ son still cared about him. He sort of wanted Prongs to realize this as well, so that he would start being a bit nicer.

“Anyway, I brought you some lunch.”

Remus frowned. “Is it time already?”

The dark haired wizard started laughing. “It’s already over, which is why I could come here without being seen.” He presented two dishes; a big one with meat, mashed potatoes and peas. The small plate hat two pieces of treacle tart.

“First of all: Did you bring both pieces for me?” he asked grinning. He was somehow sure that Harry had probably brought one for himself as well.

The man smirked. “Officially; yes. But no, I definitely thought that maybe you would be okay with me eating the other one.”

Remus nodded.

“Secondly, shouldn’t you be in school? What classes do you have?”

Harry grinned. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got DADA, but the professors sometimes let me miss one or two classes.”

“Why?”

The man only shook his head, still smirking. Remus knew he wouldn’t say anything, but it was still worth at least trying. He accepted lunch and put his essay away, so he could eat properly. They both sat in silence for the longest time.

“You know, I’m sorry about my freak out on Sunday. I haven’t really gotten any time to apologize to you” he conceded. “I know it must be hard for you. I can’t even imagine what you must be going through.”

He saw Harry blink a little bit faster. Just as someone would do to try and keep the tears inside. It must be very, very hard. This whole situation made him wonder what happened to all of them in their future. Why was he almost about to cry, when things like that would be mentioned?

The only real information Remus had, was that he had fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, which seemed to have happened rather recently. Nothing else. The longer he thought about it, the clearer it was for him: he probably hadn’t survived the war. That was probably torturing James’ son; seeing dead people wander around, so curious and full of live. It made him wander what happened to his friends.

“It’s okay, Remus” Harry interrupted his train of thoughts. “We all have our bad days.” He clearly had his voice under control again. Still, Remus heard it shaking ever so slightly.

They were eating their cake silently. Both lost in their own thoughts, until Remus decided to ask Harry for help for his essay.

“Listen, I’ve heard you’re the Patronus master, so I was wondering if you could help me with any of…”

“Sorry, no” Harry said with an odd facial expression.

“But… I thought you…”

Harry shook his head. “Please don’t ask my anything related to a Patronus.”

Remus frowned. That was weird. He was helping the Slytherin wizard with his Patronus, but he wouldn’t help him? What was that about? Suddenly, it hit him. He looked at the man and asked his question. “It’s something about my future, isn’t it?”

Harry bit his lower lip and bore his fingers in his arm. “Well… yes. I’d rather not discuss this anymore.” Remus simply nodded. The answer was good enough.

They spent the entire afternoon together in the Shrieking Shack. James’ son was apparently happy to miss some classes in DADA. Remus was still wondering about the Patronus, but ignored the question rising in his mind.

Shortly after the sixth period had finished, Remus heard some paws walking though the house and after a few seconds, Padfoot in his transformed body walked in. Harry, who sat with his back to the door and was clearly lost in a book, hadn’t heard him.

Sirius, as a big, black dog, walked closer and was now directly behind the man. Remus was debating whether or not he should just watch what happened. He decided to wait and see. The dog snuck closer and was just about to howl in Harry’s ear – possibly – when Padfoot suddenly winced and ran out. Remus frowned. What just happened?

“Why would you do that?!” Sirius walked in, with an angry glint in his eyes.

Harry turned around indifferent. “Just be happy, I didn’t lose my shit and cursed you into oblivion. A stinging hex shouldn’t be so bad.” He turned back to his book.

Both Sirius and Remus shared a confused look. Remus decided to talk first. “What do you mean with a stinging hex? You didn’t even turn around and cast a spell.”

Harry sighed and closed his book. “In sixth year, you’re going to learn about non verbal spells.”

“What about non visual spells?” Sirius growled and it sounded just like a real animal growl.

Prongs’ son just looked at him without saying anything first. Apparently, he still decided to say something. “When you’re being hu… in a war, you learn or you die. It’s called adapting.”

Padfoot was just about to answer, when James walked in as a stag, clearly having trouble fitting through the door frame. Harry sighed and facepalmed. “I don’t think a stag belongs into a house. Your antlers are too big” he called out to the stag and raised an eyebrow.

Remus wasn’t sure if Harry realized this was his father. He knew Padfoot was a dog, so theoretically he should know about the stag as well.

Prongs turned his head and walked in with a weird angle. Then he picked up Remus’ quill with his mouth and started writing something on an empty sheet of parchment. Remus had serious trouble hiding his grin. Harry, on the other hand, just sat there, no emotions on his face, even though there was a writing stag in the room and the others weren’t even looking at it, but at the man.

“What will you do, when I say ‘sit’?”

The stag sat on its arse and looked at Harry with a tilted head. The wizard wasn’t even smiling, which Remus thought was unusual. What would it take to make him smile at something like that?

“He can even roll over!” Sirius explained and James did exactly what he said, even though he had some problems with his antlers.

“Great show” Harry said deadpan. “Can you sing as well?”

The stag just stood there; finally dropping the quill he’d had in his mouth the entire time and stared into Harry’s eyes. The wizard got to his feet and yawned.

“I think I’ll leave you alone. Keep the stag entertained, maybe he needs to be chased by a black dog, who knows.” He packed his things and walked by the stag and left.

Padfoot frowned, as Prongs transformed back into a human again.

“What’s going on with him? Did he already behave like that, when you were alone with him?” James asked worried.

Remus shook his head. This was really weird. He hadn’t behaved strangely, when Sirius entered. He had thrown a stinging hex, but sometimes that was the only way to shut someone up. Whatever happened there was totally uncharacteristically weird.

He could see Prongs’ hair color returning and grinned. “James, drink a bit of the Polyjuice Potion, you’re turning back into your own body.”

“I hate this one anyway. I’ll turn back, once we’re going up to the castle” Harry’s father answered and shook his head.

Sirius grinned. He brought a plate of food, which was probably stolen from the kitchen and sat down, snatching Remus’ essay and reading through it. “Why do you always choose weird topics, Moony? I mean, I’m writing about the shield charm. So much easier than writing about Patronuses.”

Remus rolled his eyes. “I realize that now. But it’s too late to turn back by now.” He looked at James and grinned. “What are you writing about?”

Prongs rolled his eyes. “The essay’s not due for another two weeks, I haven’t decided yet. What’s the topic again?”

Sirius laughed. “Anything that symbolizing a shield.”

“Or protection” Remus added.

His friend shrugged his shoulders. “That should be easy.”

“As long as you don’t pick Patronuses, apparently” Padfoot advised and winked at Remus, who just shook his head in affirmation.

James sat down on the floor and grabbed something to eat. Sirius gave Remus’ parchment back. They talked about simple stuff, homework and lessons. James and Sirius were tasked with taking notes for Remus. Of course, all professors knew that these two were not really to be trusted, but since they were actually time travelers, they decided not to stress them too much. Once they were back in their normal times, they could start learning correctly again.

Once they had filled him in, their discussion changed. It focused once again on finding out what happened in their past or future.

“Did you find anything new?” Remus asked interested.

Padfoot shook his head. “I went to the trophy room. If Harry actually was so important, don’t you think they would have given him a trophy or at the very least space in that room?”

James nodded, in thought. “Maybe he didn’t want anything. He seems to be someone who’s rather annoyed by his fame…”

“By the way” Sirius interrupted Prongs. “We still don’t know how he became famous! He seems to hate it, but the question is why!”

Remus sighed. “I don’t think we’re getting anything out of Harry.”

“What if we try Hermione?” James asked frowning.

“Or Ron?” Padfoot grinned. “I think we’re having much more luck with him. Hermione’s like Remus.”

Remus shook his head. “What do you mean by that?”

Prongs laughed. “Meaning: The moment we ask, she’s going to realize what our goal is. Maybe Ron won’t find out about this.”

“We should at least try it” Sirius said after Remus hesitated a little bit too long.

Remus nodded. Why not? If the others could distract Hermione with some questions about DADA, he was bound to get at least a little bit of information out of him. Which was exactly what they planned and once the couple entered the Shrieking Shack, Sirius and James bombarded Hermione with questions, big and small.

Ron walked up to Remus’ room and asked him if he was okay.

“Sure” he answered. How should he go about asking him? They had only planned how to distract the witch, not get information out of the wizard.

Maybe, if he tried to make it look like he was worried for Harry, Ron would slip up and reveal something important.

“Do you think, Harry’s okay?” he asked actually worried.

Ron shrugged his shoulders. “There are good days and bad days. Why? Did something happen?”

Well, that backfired. “No, no.” What should he say next, to make him slip up? “We were trying to have him enjoy his time here, but he just stayed emotionless and walked off.”

Ron frowned. “Sounds like he’s having a bad day. Don’t worry; he’s going to get better soon.”

Remus sighed. That route clearly wasn’t heading the way he wanted it to. What else could he use to manipulate him into speaking?

To be honest, he had never tried anything like it and it seemed to be a characteristic he didn’t have. Instead of asking more holes into Harry’s best friend, he just decided to walk back to his friends. He did try after all and if nothing good came out of it, then so be it.

Prongs and Padfoot were still asking questions, but Hermione’s frown showed Remus that she suspected something. Before she could see them, he decided to say good bye to his friends. And as they left, he lay back in his bed, thinking how they could gather some more information about their future, Harry and his situation.


	22. A ticking Time Bomb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry breaks down after seeing his father joke around.

Harry slammed the door as he entered the dormitory and fell onto his bed. His mind was racing, his heart almost tearing itself apart. The day had started so good! Now, he was feeling worse than ever. He couldn’t keep himself together, not a second longer.

His father joking around in his Animagus form sure was fun, but all he could think about was that tomorrow, Halloween would happen. Harry’s least favorite holiday; he just couldn’t laugh at what his father was doing and know that he was going to die.

He slid from his bed and fell onto the floor, doubled up in pain and started to scream. He didn’t even care to put up silencing charms; everyone else was at dinner. It was too much, simply too much. All of it, every second of them being around. He needed them to leave, to feel free again. Right now, there was no exit, nothing. It felt hopeless. What should he do?!

Once he had no air left in his lungs, he dropped his head to the floor, still doubled up and started crying, holding himself. It didn’t give him any comfort, but there was nothing else he could do. He couldn’t talk to Hermione or Ron; they were heading to the Shrieking Shack after dinner, to get the two marauders back into the Common Room. And the rest didn’t care about what he was feeling; they only wanted to see their perfect, flawless Savior. Maybe he could talk to Neville, but he also had his own demons that were haunting him.

Suddenly, he felt someone grabbing him and holding him close. Harry froze for a second, but his tears made it impossible to see who was next to him. Maybe Ron had forgotten something in the dormitory. It hadn’t mattered anyway. He cried into the other man’s shoulder, while being held close with some pressure, so he could feel save. 

It felt like forever, as if he had been crying for so long, that time stopped caring. It was just so painful and he felt like everything he had held inside for years on end, even if it had nothing to do with his father and friends, decided to leave his body at the same time.

He saw Cedric getting killed again, his father’s scream haunting him even as he left the game grounds. The memory, the dementors had brought up in him, was stabbing him right in his guts. Sirius dying. Him falling through the curtain of life and death. Disappearing, because he wanted to save his godson. He saw the people that had fought in the Battle right next to him, dead. It was getting worse and worse.

Harry suddenly couldn’t breathe anymore. He gasped for air, trying his hardest to ignore the memories that seemed to surround him, wanting to kill him. The person, who was holding him, suddenly let go. Harry wanted to scream at him. How could he leave him at a time like this?! Didn’t he see that Harry wasn’t okay, yet? That he still needed them? He was freaking out.

Then he saw in the middle of the traumatic events, an all too familiar face. It wasn’t Ron, but Malfoy. Looking rather worried and talking, but Harry couldn’t hear a word. His ears were full of screams and the dementor’s memories of his mother.

He turned his head and looked under his bed, but he felt hands on his face, turning his gaze back to Malfoy. This time he could actually understand a few words.

“Breathe, Potter. Breathe!” Malfoy said and motioned the action of breathing, so Potter did it as well. He realized in an instant that he had stopped breathing a while ago and got as much air in his lungs as he could. The Slytherin seemed to relax a bit, still looking very concerned.

Harry closed his eyes, concentrating on his breath, suddenly feeling empty and tired. He was incredibly thankful that Malfoy had been there to calm him down and help him. Even though he would never say that out loud. Never.

“Now, be honest, Potter” he heard Malfoy talking again as if he was miles away. “How are you feeling?”

Harry simple shook his head very carefully. “Empty.”

He felt like he’d had one of those nightmares, where every move was too much energy and he couldn’t form any functional sentences ever again. He felt like he’d just walked to literal hell and Malfoy guided him back to the real world.

“Here.” Harry opened his eyes again with all his strength and saw Malfoy holding a glass of water. The Slytherin helped him sitting up and leaning against his bed, before he took the water, shaking.

“I’m sorry” he whispered, but the other man simply shook his head.

“Never be sorry for something like that, okay? It’s not your fault” Malfoy stressed and gave him a comforting smile. Harry simply nodded, too exhausted to argue with that or comment on anything. He drank the water and let the glass slip out of his hand by accident. The Slytherin caught it quickly and placed it on his bedside table.

“I don’t know what happened” Harry admitted, surprised that he was actually able to form a sentence. Malfoy sat next to him and put an arm around his shoulders, stroking his arm softly. He immediately felt so much better, just with this simple gesture. There was also something else he couldn't quite explain, but that was probably still the feeling of whatever had just happened.

The Slytherin looked at his own bed and quietly explained. “It looked to me as if you were having a panic or anxiety attack or maybe even a flashback to war.”

Harry shook his head. “Nothing from what you’ve just mentioned sounds like me.”

“It doesn’t have to. Just because the Oh So Holy Golden Boy had a breakdown doesn’t mean, you can’t get rid of it or learn how to deal with it.”

Harry felt Malfoy’s gaze on him. He was too tired to say anything back. Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn’t. How should he find out the truth, right now?

“Common, Oh Glorious Boy, time for bed” Malfoy said and as Harry looked at him, he seemed a bit tense. The Slytherin helped him into bed and tucked him in carefully. He hesitated a second, before kissing his forehead, as if he was child and whispering “Sleep tight.”

“How can I sleep without the potion?” Harry slurred tired, grabbing a pillow.

Malfoy smiled. “I gave it to you with the glass of water, Potter.”

Before Harry could realize what his former nemesis was talking about, he was asleep, peaceful, happy and comfortable.

*

Harry woke up from a good night’s sleep. He looked at the ceiling, before he felt that he was still wearing his cloths. Frowning, he touched his shirt, maybe he was dreaming… When he rubbed his forehead, he suddenly remembered everything.

The freak out, Malfoy comforting him, he gave him the Dreamless Sleep Potion in a glass of water. Was there a kiss as well? Harry awoke for real with a start. What? Did Malfoy actually kiss his forehead? Why? It was probably just a dream… Maybe Harry would have really wanted that to happen. He was confused. Nothing of what happened yesterday made any kind of sense…

He opened the curtains, which Malfoy must have drawn as well, only to find the Slytherin sitting on his bed, studying that weird book again. He had heard Harry opening the curtains and looked over at him.

“How are you feeling, Potter?”

 _Empty_. Harry shook his head. What was going on? “Okay. Thanks to you” he answered instead. “You?”

He shrugged and pointed to the book. “It’s getting weirder. I have no idea why McGonagall thought this was an appropriate book for eighth year students.”

“Maybe it’s her favorite book and she wants people to read it” Harry suggested and Malfoy grinned.

“I highly doubt that” The Slytherin said. Harry smiled slightly. He felt a little lighter, probably all thanks to his new roommate. He looked around and saw Ron’s bed unused. The Slytherin must have followed his gaze, because he started laughing softly.

“Don’t get me started on what happened last night when you were asleep. Granger came by and asked if you had been behaving any differently…” he must have seen Harry’s look, because he held up his hands and interrupted himself. “Don’t worry; I haven’t said a word about your breakdown. Weasley then lost his shit and basically attacked poor Granger and I’m sure they took it into her dormitory.”

Harry shook his head. “What makes you say that?” he asked interested as well as a little surprised.

“The girls were having a sleepover party in Millicent’s dormitory. Pretty sure no one was in Granger’s dorm…”

“Thank you, but I really don’t need to have a mental image of my two best friends shagging” Harry rolled his eyes, grabbed some cloths and walked down to the showers, to get himself looking a little more decent.

“Hey, you asked…” Malfoy called after him. He could hear the Slytherin laughing even once he opened the shower cubicles. It made him smirk a little bit.

While in the shower, Harry let his thoughts run free. It was Saturday. Halloween. At least he didn’t have any classes, so he could hide in his bed for the whole day. Hermione and Ron had already agreed to babysit the marauders on Halloween, so he could literally stay in bed all day long. 

Suddenly, Harry realized that yesterday, when he had a breakdown, Malfoy was there. Why was he here and not eating dinner like the rest? When he had changed and was back in the dormitory, he turned to the Slytherin, who was looking for a book on the shelf above his bed, and asked that exact question.

The man standing on his bed smiled. “Well, I was actually coming here to argue with you that you took one of my slots with Angelica, but when I saw you on the floor I decided I’d rather help you instead.”

Harry nodded. He was really thankful for his help. “Why did I take your slots with Angelica?”

Malfoy grinned at the book he just pulled out of his impressive library and threw it on his bed and climbed down his bed, before answering. “Well, up until now, I had two sessions a week, Monday and Friday from five to six. She gave you the one on Monday” he explained as he shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, I now only have one, so I feel rather good about it.” He waited a few moments, before looking at Harry grinning. “I still would have wanted to argue with you.”

“But why?” Harry was a little confused. Why would he want them to have an argument? He already said he was happy with only having one session a week, and maybe Harry actually needed two. After last night, he was sure he needed those. Even though, he didn’t really want to admit it himself.

The Slytherin chuckled. “Because; it’s always fun, arguing with you.”

“Yeah right.” Harry rolled his eyes, but Malfoy laughed.

“You keep me on my toes, you bloody Gryffindor.”

Harry suppressed a grin and shook his head. “Stupid Slytherins!”

Malfoy looked up and threw his hands in the air. “Now you even made an alliteration?! Man, I need to up my game!”

Harry simply shook his head, now actually grinning. “You know, Malfoy, you kind of suck.”

The Slytherin grinned back. “Yeah, people keep telling me. But at least I made you smile.”

He really didn’t want to, but at the last sentence, Harry couldn’t do anything else, but chuckle. He eyed the book Malfoy had thrown on his bed and saw that it was about teaching potions. His future potions teacher grabbed the book and turned it on its back while rolling his eyes.

“Don’t judge me; I need all the help I can get.”

“I wasn’t going to judge you” Harry replied immediately. “I was simply wondering when we’d have our first potion lesson.”

Malfoy sighed. “We still need to find a room.”

“I was serious about the secret room where we were hiding in” Harry repeated his idea.

The Slytherin frowned. “Well, I was serious with all the spider nets and things like that.”

“I would clean it first, obviously.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

Harry shook his head. “I want to. I think it’s the perfect place. I mean, yes, we’d need some complete and unbroken cauldrons and maybe a few not rotten ingredients, everything else should be good.”

Malfoy frowned, clearly thinking about Harry’s proposition. Maybe it was too much, saying that he wanted to clean, but he really thought this classroom was their best option. The Room of Requirement wouldn’t work, since basically everyone knew of its existence by now. And it would have been rather awkward to have him teach Harry potions in an actually potions classroom, where Slughorn could watch and wonder how Harry had become so bad after the war. Well, maybe he was already wondering about that.

“If you really want to. Then okay. But if you don’t want to clean, we can look for other options” the Slytherin offered. Harry nodded.

“I’ll get started on it right away” he said eager to have something to do, where he could be hiding as well. Malfoy simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Sure, I’ll go to Hogsmeade and get two or three cauldrons, as well as some ingredients”, he explained his actions.

He grabbed some money and headed out before Harry could call after him that he would pay half of everything they’d needed. However, the Slytherin was gone and Harry got on his feet as well, ready to walk down into the dungeons.

He entered the Common Room, when Ron almost ran into him. “Harry! Bloody hell, we’ve got a problem!”

Harry frowned and followed Ron to the armchair in front of the fire. Hermione sat there, reading a letter, her hands shaking. A silent tear streaming down her face.

“’Mione, what’s going on?” he asked worried.

When she looked up, she suppressed a sob and gave him the letter. He scanned through it quickly and read that her parents had a relapse and they couldn’t remember anything. Their healer requested immediate help in person. She figured that only real face to face interactions would help them recover what was left in their brains.

“Harry, I cannot not go!” she said, her voice shaking.

“I understand, ‘Mione! Really, you should go and help your parents.” Harry didn’t even have to turn to Ron to know that he was pondering over whether or not he should go with his girlfriend. Harry decided that she really shouldn’t be alone, so he turned to his best friend. “And I think you should accompany her.”

“Mate, I can’t just leave you alone on Halloween with… _them_ ” he tried to debate.

Harry shook his head. “We can’t let her deal with this on her own. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” Ron asked frowning and assessing him quickly.

“Yes. I insist you go with Hermione.”

Ron nodded and helped his girlfriend getting up. “Let’s go talk to McGonagall, maybe she can send us to your parent’s ward without waiting a second longer.”

He waved Harry and was gone with Hermione. Harry closed his eyes. What a day. And it had only just started. Maybe he could recruit the marauders to help him clean. Theoretically, he could sneak Remus into the room with his Invisibility Cloak, but then he had to show them that he was actually in possession of his father’s cloak…

Whatever it was, Harry walked towards the Womping Willow to find his father and friends and tell them their task for today. And hopefully today, he wasn’t breaking down, though the possibility of that was increasing by the minute.


	23. There's no Time like the Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry decided to make the best out of spending Halloween with his father and friends ans recruits them to clean the hidden room.

“I knew you had the Invisibility Cloak!”

Harry had met James and Sirius in the dungeons, in front of the hidden room they were going to clean. He had insisted that Remus wear his cloak, so no one could see him until they entered the classroom. Now they were standing there, Remus accidentally revealing his head, but hid under it quickly.

James looked at Harry, who in turn frowned at him. “If you keep announcing it that loud, everyone’ll hear about it and I’m pretty sure there are some people who would love to sneak around unseen and will abuse that power.”

Sirius shook his head. “I thought you were funnier.”

Harry had some trouble biting back a comment. Whatever he was going to say today, he was going to regret tomorrow. So, better not say anything and wait for the next day to come, so he could be normal again. At least he felt that being in charge kept him sane and also from falling apart. He opened the room and walked in after the marauders.

“Holy shit, this place is dirty!” James shook his head and almost walked into the same spider webs, Malfoy walked in last time. Sirius, however, held him back and inspected the room.

“Yes, and we are going to clean it.” The marauders stared at Harry as if he had lost his mind – which today wouldn’t surprise him. James looked like he had just seen a ghost and Sirius seemed disgusted by the simple thought of it. Only Remus nodded thoughtfully.

“Why would we do that?!” Sirius said and crossed his arms over his chest. “Have you never heard of house elves?”

Harry remembered how Sirius had always treated Kreacher and sighed. “I have heard of them. Also; never mention them in front of Hermione, just a warning. This room is not an official classroom, so they won’t clean it. And they don’t have to, because we’re going to do it.”

James shook his head. “I don’t think so. Count me out.”

He walked towards the door, which was already disappearing on it's own. Harry shrugged his shoulders, as he locked the door with the ‘claude ostium’ spell, he had learned while on the run. His father turned the doorknob, looked down confused and tried it again. He pressed his whole body against the locked door and turned around to look into Harry’s eyes.

“Nice little trick. What did you do?”

“It’s a secret room. I’m pretty sure that the door only opens when you do something specific” he explained, blaming the door instead.

James narrowed his eyes, but didn’t try to leave again. He leaned against the door and showed clearly that he was not going to help them. Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. Suddenly, they were all interrupted by a loud crash and turned around to see Remus standing next to a pile of ash. His finger still outstretched to the now missing table for the professors.

“Holy…” the werewolf stared at the pile on the floor, while Sirius started laughing and fell to the floor. Harry shook his head. It did look rather unstable, so it wasn’t surprising that the table turned to ash.

“Don’t worry, Remus. That’s why I wanted to clean here” Harry said and smiled a little.

He took out a big, wooden pole and started to collect the spider webs. Remus looked inside the bag, Harry had brought with him, found a rag and started dusting the waist height shelves with the old books about Dark Arts and Potions. Sirius shook his head, a little desperate, but grabbed an empty bag to throw away the old books that were falling apart und unable to read. The ink had left the pages a long time ago and most were almost half eaten by some insects, which were probably dead by now.

James still sat at the entrance and was as cross as anything. He mumbled something about magic and Harry knew that he wanted to simply clean with it. However, he needed to distract himself and that always worked best when he didn’t use magic. If he had used magic, maybe something wouldn’t have worked out.

He was surely going to use magic for the floor, because as much as he didn’t like to use magic while cleaning – the floor was the most annoying part. Also the big pile of ash was problematic. Best use magic to make it disappear.

They cleaned in silence, Remus dusting the tables once he had finished the shelves, Sirius trying various spells to clean the moveable chalk board, Harry incinerating the unusable cauldrons and James scowling in a corner. Well, the latter wasn’t really cleaning, but he probably didn’t want to help, seeing that Harry basically locked them all inside the room. Maybe it felt too much like detention.

Shortly before they could finish, it was lunch time already. Harry led the marauders to the Great Hall and sat down next to Neville and Dean. Remus had stayed in the room, while Sirius promised to bring him something to eat. Dean and Neville were absorbed in their discussion about the best Quidditch players in history – mainly a debate whether Malawi actually deserved the World Cup title. Harry smiled a little, but didn’t interrupt their discussion. He hadn’t even had the time to follow the tournament and the final match; he only knew that Malawi won over Senegal. The two Gryffindors were probably just angry that the UK didn’t come that far. However, they had other things to handle…

“I don’t understand how you’re okay with us hearing about the Quidditch World Cup of 1998, but you don’t want us to know anything about other stuff” James said pondering.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “It’s already too late to isolate you from any news, so… as long as it’s got nothing to do with you personally, it’s fine.”

The two time travelers grabbed something to eat, Sirius filling a small hidden box for Remus with all kinds of stuff. The tables were not really full, as it was the Hogsmeade weekend for the school. Mostly eighth year students were sitting there, eating lunch and discussing some essays and news they had heard from their parents or newspapers.

Once they had finished, McGonagall walked in and directly towards Harry who had just gotten up. “Potter” she addressed him quickly. “Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger will be spending the night in St. Mungo’s. I hope you can keep them occupied alone. Should there be any problems; feel free to come to my office.”

Harry simply nodded and thanked the headmistress.

James crossed his arms again over his chest, once she was gone again. “What do you think she’ll do if I tell her that you looked us in a room in the dungeons and told us to clean _by hand_ and without magic?”

“Probably that I was doing a good job in keeping you busy” Harry grinned.

Sirius laughed and shook his head. “He’s got a point.”

“I really don’t want to clean!” James argued, still slightly angry.

Harry almost told him that he hadn't cleaned for a second, but thought better of it. They walked to the dungeons again, where they encountered some noisy Slytherins. It was the three girls that probably hexed Malfoy a few days ago. Apparently, they didn’t go to Hogsmeade. Harry didn’t regard them with one look, simply marched the way to the secret room. He could hear them follow.

He walked slightly faster, turned around the corner, opened the door as quickly as possible, grabbed the two marauders outside and hid in the room once again. The door disappeared a second before the girls turned around the corner. Lucky them.

Remus looked up, as the three people entered the hideout and basically stared a hole in the food box, Sirius was holding in his hands. As soon as Harry was sure, they were safe, he let them go and Sirius brought his friend the food.

They sat on the floor, silently buried in their own thoughts, while Remus was eating. Harry hated it right now. He had nothing to do, but they would kill him if he would make them start cleaning again. They had actually worked harder than he had thought. Especially Sirius, who had actually managed to clean that damn chalkboard after the fiftieth attempt of a different spell, was showing his later stubbornness to help Harry. He had never guessed that the man would clean, seeing as he grew up with house elves who did all the cleaning. At the same time, he would have guessed that his father would have at least attempted to help, not sit in the corner staring on the dusty floor. Remus had acted pretty much exactly as Harry had predicted.

After Remus had eaten, they continued cleaning. Harry mending the cracks on the wall, Sirius levitating some candles up to the unused chandelier, Remus plowing through the rotten ingredients, throwing the unhopefully dead plants away and keeping those who could be saved. James once again sitting in a corner, however, his face was less angry than this morning. Harry attached some more torches and candles along the walls to make the room brighter after the cracks were done, when James finally got up and helped Sirius levitating some more candles. Harry had to be honest, he was really happy that his father finally decided to help them all cleaning. Even though that was literally the last thing they had to do, before cleaning the floor. But who cared?

When they were all gone, Harry made the trash disappear and cleaned the floor with a quick magic spell. He looked around rather proud. The room looked inviting. There were no more spider webs, it was light and clean. Yes, the desk at the front was missing, but they could just use one of the six other tables for students.

“Thank you for your help” Harry said grinning. He actually meant it, even though they were more forced to help him.

“Well, we should keep our prison clean, right?” James asked and rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, the heard a voice and turned around to see the door appearing. Harry grabbed his cloak, threw it over Remus, who sat himself quickly in a corner. Sirius and James ran at him as well and were all hiding under the cloak in no time.

Harry held his wand towards the door, not really knowing who would want to walk in here. Did someone else know about this place? In that case, them cleaning it wasn’t really good, since Malfoy and he needed to look for another room.

A second later, Malfoy walked in, seemingly surprised to find himself on the other side of Harry’s wand. Two cauldrons were hanging on his arm, while he was carrying a big bag full of fresh ingredients and different bases, as well as a smaller bag with sweets from honeydukes.

Harry sank his wand and bit his lower lip. “Sorry, I didn’t expect you to come in here.”

“No problem, Potter.” He looked around in surprise. “By Salazar, you actually cleaned it in less than three hours!”

Harry wanted to add that he had help, but he knew he shouldn’t say anything. Unless he wanted to tell Malfoy who they were and what they were doing here and also why they were currently hiding under his cloak. Also, Remus looked like their past professor, so the Slytherin would definitely ask him for his relations and that way the time traveler would find out he would be a professor at Hogwarts.

“Well, have you never heard of magic?” Harry grinned and made Malfoy roll his eyes.

“Nope. Can you explain that interesting new subject I have never heard off and never seen in my entire life?” Harry laughed at his comment.

The Slytherin looked to the chalk board and seemed to realize that the teacher’s table was missing. His next question confirmed Harry’s suspicions. “Where did you put the professor’s table?

“It decided that it couldn’t handle all of this new and exciting atmosphere.” Malfoy frowned and Harry just had to grin, before he answered the question a little bit clearer. “I touched it and it literally transformed into a pile of ash.”

The Slytherin nodded and placed the ingredients bag next to the ones Remus had sorted through, then put the two cauldrons on the shelf where the old Dark Arts and Potions book had been. He took out a package from the honeyduke’s bag and placed it on the desk separating the two men.

“I brought you something.”

Harry was frozen for a few seconds. Why would he do something like that? He couldn’t suppress his curiosity and opened the box carefully. It was a piece of treacle tart and he started at it for a while.

“How did you know…?”

Malfoy laughed. “Come on, everyone knows your favorite sweets are treacle tarts and chocolate frogs.”

Harry blushed a little, he could feel the heat in his face. “Thanks.”

“No, thank you for cleaning! I don’t think I would have stayed in here with all those damn spider webs.”

Harry chuckled and closed the box again. He was going to eat it later. “I don’t really mind.”

“Yes, well. There must have been a lot of webs in the cupboard” Malfoy shook his head. Harry almost let the cake fall, when he realized that he had mentioned that detail to the Slytherin on that night up in the owlery. Luckily, the blond wizard didn’t go into detail right now, so his father and friends wouldn’t possibly be able to figure out what Malfoy was talking about. 

“Oh, spiders as well” he said grinningly.

Malfoy shuddered. “That’s disgusting.”

“I didn’t know you hated spiders” Harry wondered.

The Slytherin narrowed his eyes. “Why? Are you planning something?”

This made Harry laugh and he shook his head. If he really wanted to scare Malfoy with a spider, he first had to get one and to be honest, the easiest way would be to try and find Aragog’s family of spiders. However, he was sure as hell never going back there.

“What are you talking about, Malfoy?! After you brought my favorite cake! I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“You better not!” He was thinking about something for a while, but talked eventually. “Also, I’m pretty sure we haven’t clarified a date on which I’d teach you potions.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, right. So what would suit you?”

“Monday, five to six.”

Harry couldn’t help himself from laughing, but shoved the Slytherin back. “Yeah, I can’t really remember what I’m doing then, but I think I’m preoccupied” he joked. “How about Friday, five to six?

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders grinning as well. “So weird, but I have the exact same feeling of being preoccupied around Friday, five to six!”

“What a coincidence!”

The Slytherin laughed. “No, jokes aside. How’s Monday after dinner? Maybe eight to nine?”

“That’s late dinner” Harry thought out loud.

“Well, I figured, since you’re going to therapy on Monday, it could happen that you needed some time after. So I’d rather start at eight than at seven, where we may have to keep you from falling apart” Malfoy explained his thought process.

“And why would I not fall apart at eight?”

“If you are, we can still talk about whatever happened in the session.”

Harry thought for a while, but right now it seemed to be the best solution. “Sure. And before I forget, I’ll give you back half of what you’ve paid for ingredients and stuff.”

Malfoy shook his head. “Not happening, Potter. You cleaned the room!” The Slytherin turned around and left the room with a short wave.

James got up from the Invisibility Cloak. When Harry turned around, he could see Remus with a frowning face scratching his forehead, Sirius with raised eyebrows and James, arms crossed over his chest.

“So many new information, and not enough questions to ask” he said grinningly. Harry rolled his eyes.

“I won’t answer any questions.”

Sirius got up as well and placed the cloak on a desk. “How come you’re getting paid for cleaning, but we’re not even getting credits for helping?!”

Harry sighed. “What would you like for cleaning?” he was certain that some of the marauders would want an answer for something related to their past, so he just added something. “But no questions.”

James rolled his eyes quickly. However, it wasn’t his father who answered, but Sirius.

“Tomorrow, we can roam free. No babysitting.”

Harry frowned. That was not a good idea. He had, however, promised them something. And they didn’t know he had the map… So instead of keeping an eye on them in person, he would spend his day in his dormitory, looking at the map. That shouldn’t be too hard… hopefully.

“Fine. But only after breakfast and until six o’clock for dinner. If you’re not in the Great Hall by then, I’ll go to McGonagall and tell her that you ran away and I can’t find you anymore.”

The marauders’ faces practically lit up. Harry was already wondering, if he had made a mistake. It was too late to take it back, though. He just had to wait and see what would happen. At least, the day hadn't ended in chaos and him falling to pieces right in front of the marauders.


	24. Some Things had to happen at one Time or another

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things happen on Sunday. And, Zabini's back...

There were more than four important things happening on Sunday. First of all, the marauders apparently enjoyed their time by the lake. Harry was incredibly happy that they seemingly didn’t go snoop around the castle until later that day.

Hermione had sent an owl after lunch telling him that her parents had apparently gotten a little better. Their healer wanted her to stay at St. Mungo’s for a few more days, but they were all hopeful. She also promised him to send Ron back this evening and apologized again for letting him alone, yesterday. Harry wasn’t mad at her. It had all been quite okay the other day. After they had left the building, they had spent the rest of Halloween in the Shrieking Shack.

The third thing that happened was Blaise Zabini finally moving in. Harry was sitting on the floor, his Invisibility Cloak around him, because he didn’t want to be seen with the marauders’ map, when the door opened and the man had walked in. He was already wearing his Hogwarts’ uniform, stared at Malfoy’s name in obvious disgust and threw his stuff in front of his bed.

“Why would they throw me in here with the only man I hate” he murmured to himself. Harry had to suppress a sigh. Great, so now that Ron was finally okay with Malfoy’s presence, they had gotten a new angry inhabitant of their dorm. Zabini had looked around a little more. At one point, Harry thought that he had been spotted, but the Slytherin had just continued to look around. After a while, he had left the dormitory.

The next thing that happened was Harry spotting Malfoy’s name on the map, in a corridor at the other end of the marauders. His father and friends had decided to roam the castle shortly before dinner. He always checked the time travelers, but was still interested to see what the Slytherin was up to. It appeared as if he was headed towards the library. Then all of a sudden, Harry saw three other students following him. He shook his head. Those must be the Slytherin girls who just couldn’t let him be himself. Before he could see what was going on, he had to turn the page to keep up with the marauders. He made a mental note to ask the Slytherin in person what was going on and if he could somehow help him.

There was also another owl that came and brought interesting news for Harry. The Auror’s department had decided to welcome him without an entry test. Harry had rolled his eyes and thrown the letter on his bed. He needed to talk to Kingsley again and tell him that he was no longer interested. However, he could have sworn that he’d already mentioned that to the minister.

The last thing that happened, was that Ron came back shortly after dinner had finished and they had brought Remus his dinner and returned back to the marauder’s dormitory. Ron walked in, looking like he hadn’t slept in days and smiled at Harry tiredly.

“Hey guys” he said.

“Where have you been, yesterday?” Sirius asked curiously.

“So, you were not up to cleaning a dirty ass room?” James asked pretty much at the same time.

Ron looked a little confused, but shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Harry explained that he had them work the whole day. Something did tell him that he probably shouldn’t mention that the marauders were allowed to roam the school today without supervision. They talked about Hermione’s parents, who, thanks to her being there, gained some memories back in general and of her. While Harry and Ron were talking, the marauders tried their best to get any information out of them, regarding Hermione’s parents and why they had forgotten something so big. Neither of the two men said anything.

After a while, they paced back to their own dormitory. As Harry opened the door, he heard Malfoy and Zabini arguing quite loudly. He shared a quick look with Ron and entered the room.

“I would rather share my room with a dementor than a Death Eater” Zabini called out. He drew his wand, but before he could even say anything, Harry disarmed him without having to draw his own wand. He was always surprised how easy it was for some spells. Maybe it was because he had used Expelliarmus for a long time.

The new addition stared at Harry and Ron and narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing?! You should be thanking me for hexing that fucking Death Eater!” he turned to Malfoy again, who was even paler than before. “I would have been back here in September, if it wasn’t for the board thinking that all Slytherins were Death Eaters!”

“Oi!” Ron dragged him away from attacking the blond wizard. Harry was surprised. Apparently, his best friend hadn’t only started to accept Malfoy as being a decent human being, but seemed to also defend him.

“We are not having fights in our room!” the redhead said expressive. “Also, Zabini, Malfoy’s a _former_ Death Eater. You really shouldn’t confuse those two things.”

“He still got the mark!”

Harry could see Malfoy draw down the sleeve of his shirt. Ron held the Slytherin solidly away from his victim, even though he tried everything to get loose and attack the other man.

“It’s a scar, Zabini. We all have them” Harry tried to reason with him. He knew it was unsuccessful. Most people thought the way the new addition to this room thought. However, most people didn’t have such a personal connection to him. If Zabini actually was denied of Hogwarts, because people wanted to examine if he had any links to a Death Eater, Harry had to admit that he would have understood his anger.

Still, it was not enough – in his eyes – to attack said student.

“It’s the fucking Dark Mark!” Zabini yelled and tried once again to get free. This time he was struggling so much that Harry immediately came to help Ron retaining the Slytherin. “Let me go! I will do everyone a favor and make him leave Hogwarts!”

“No!” Harry said loud enough so Zabini winced and stopped struggling for a second. “If you hurt him, there are some people who will not stand by and just watch it happen!”

“It’s also not all of the Slytherins now, is it? Because Millicent and Lily were here since September” Malfoy tried to reason with the other Slytherin. Zabini, however, was having none of that.

“Oh, so it’s just me?! Blame it on me, why don’t you?! My mother warned me about getting involved with your kind, seeing that your parents are Death Eaters and all…”

“My mother’s not a Death Eater!”

“… but I decided to ignore her. You could really use a true friend, I thought. Apparently, I was wrong. You should never _ever_ befriend a Death Eater!” the Slytherin basically spit the last few words out as if they were poisoned and he glared at Malfoy.

He then turned towards Ron and Harry who were now both bolding him back. “And I don’t understand what you’re doing here. He made your lives miserable and you decide to hold _me_ back?!”

“He apologized” Harry simply explained.

However, this only made Zabini laugh out loud sarcastically. “ _He apologized?!_ ”

“Yes, and as a matter of fact, I believe him… We believe him” Ron said looking at the Slytherin almost as angry as he was looking when he had that damn Horcrux around his neck.

“Just like that? He made your lives a living hell and you forgive him?” Zabini asked visibly livid. It was getting harder to restrain him.

“To be honest” Harry said calmly, trying to hold his expression and calmness together, “it was Voldemort who made our lives a living nightmare, not Malfoy. And yes, I forgave him. We do all kinds of stupid stuff to keep our families safe; like becoming a Death Eater or jumping on front of the Killing Curse to save your child.”

Nobody dared to breath for a few seconds. Ron seemed to have another moment of enlightenment, Malfoy stared at Harry astonished, while Zabini looked like he had serious trouble connecting the two scenarios.

“It’s not the same!”

“How is this any different from a daughter obliviating her parents to keep them save? Or a mother letting her sons go to war, not knowing if they’re ever coming back? From one boy saving the entirety of the Wizarding World so no one’ll ever touch his loved once ever again” Ron asked very clearly. Harry felt goose bumps over his arms. It didn’t last very long, as Zabini still decided not to give a damn.

“Because those are all good deeds. Because becoming a Death Eater is literally the worst thing that you could do!” he yelled.

Harry shook his head. “No. _Killing_ is literally the worst thing you could do. Malfoy didn’t kill anyone. Even the court tried to find something, but guess what, they couldn’t find anything. Do you really think you can be smarter than the entire Wizengamot?”

Zabini was livid. If he could have exploded, it would have happened by now. His brown eyes were piercing into Harry, his mouth now barely a thin line and the already dark skin seemed to get a little redder in his face. He seemed to be bristle with rage.

“Why would you defend a Death Eater?! They killed your parents!”

Harry simply shook his head. “It was Voldemort. And that man is dead; we all saw his corpse. Draco had nothing to do with my parent’s death, seeing that he’s just a little older than me. Babies don’t kill people.”

Zabini got an arm free, managed to free himself completely and stormed out of the room while screaming “I’m going to find reasonable people!”

“Good luck with that in the eighth year tower. Everyone in here believes Malfoy deserves another chance” Ron laughed after him.

Harry turned to the Slytherin who had gotten rather quiet. “Are you okay?”

He shook his head as if he’d been awaken from a daydream and stared at Ron and Harry. “Are you two out of your mind? Why did you defend me? Especially you, Weasley!”

Ron grinned, even though his eyes were a little sad. “I realized that life is too short to stay mad at someone forever. Hermione asked me yesterday, if there was a reason I’d always be mean to you and to be honest, I found nothing. So, I’ve decided to just accept your apology. Harry always says: Everyone deserves a second chance.”

Malfoy was visibly moved by Ron’s statement and also seemed to be out of words. Harry smiled and had to admit that he actually liked the room with just the three of them. Now, Zabini didn’t only hate the other Slytherin, but him and Ron as well, since they didn’t let him attack the former Death Eater.

“By the way: His wand’s still here.” Ron pointed to the stick laying on the floor in front of his bed. “Am I allowed to hide it?”

Harry started laughing and Malfoy joined in as well. Ron simply grinned and picked up Zabini’s wand carefully.

“Why are you even asking me? It’s not like I’m your boss, mate. But if you hide it, it’s probably best to do so outside of our dormitory and without our knowledge, so we’re not witnesses to something so horrendous” Harry chuckled. 

“Do you think Peeves would appreciate a wand?”

Malfoy started snorting with laughter and Harry shook his head, grinning widely. “I wouldn’t trust a ghost with a wand.”

“He’s not a ghost.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Well then, I wouldn’t trust Peeves with a wand.”

“You’re probably right.” Ron walked over to his trunk and opened it to take out a smaller box and putting the wand inside it.

“What are you doing?” Malfoy asked curiously.

Ron looked up with an almost devilishly smile. “It’s George’s first solo product: A box which is unable to be accio’d. All its content is unable to appear as well. Makes it harder for the staff to find all the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes products.”

“That’s genius!” Harry laughed. “When’s it being launched?”

“End of November” Ron grinned. “You know, for Christmas shoppers and Christmas gifts.”

“I should get that for myself” Malfoy said grinning. He then pointed to the dark brown box in Ron’s hand. “For Zabini’s wand, I think we have to present him with something that looks like his own wand. He’ll realize and remember where he’d left it. If we give him a replacement, maybe he’ll forget about it.”

Harry had to admit that it did sound rather logic. However, the Slytherin would definitely not be fooled by a simple piece of wood. It needed to look and also feel like a wand.

“Ron, give me his wand.” While Ron gave Harry Zabini’s wand, Harry recalled the spell for duplicating objects. Once the spell was complete, two identical wands lay on the floor. Harry kneeled down and touched the first one. He couldn’t feel anything. So even though it looked like a real wand, the magic touch was missing. As he moved to the second wand, he felt magic radiating in the air; not his, but still: this was the real one. He gave Zabini’s wand back to Ron and placed the stick on the floor, where they had first seen it.

“I really want to know how he’s going to conjure some birds with a simple piece of wood” Malfoy grinned.

“Hey Harry, is that an official letter from the Ministry?” Harry turned around quickly and snatched the letter out of Ron’s hands. He had still read some parts and knew exactly what they wanted. “I knew it! Dad was saying that they really want to have you in the Auror’s department! I mean, you could still become one! The two of us…”

“I don’t want to!” Harry felt like a small child not willing to go to an old aunt’s birthday party. It was quiet for a moment, where he felt both eyes on him. Interestingly, they both had different feelings. Ron seemed to be everything else but understanding, while Malfoy was more insightful and empathetic. If the situation had been a little different, Harry could have definitely smiled over it.

Ron stood in front of him, grabbing him by his shoulders and shaking him a little. “Mate, you’re getting in! Without a test! Take this opportunity! It might never come back!”

“Well, I don’t mind if it never comes back. I don’t want it. If you want, I can recommend you as my official successor as the Boy Who Lived, they might do the same to you as well.”

Ron laughed loudly, as if he was joking, but Harry actually meant what he had said. He just did not want to become an Auror. He didn’t know what the future had in store for him, but he knew one thing: Voldemort was going to be the last person he had to fight.

While Ron had left the room laughing, Malfoy was sitting on his bed, frowning at him. Harry wasn’t sure what to make of it, so he just looked back questioning.

“Why don’t you at least try it? It can’t be that bad…”

Harry shook his head. “Please, don’t make me question my decisions. I already do it on a daily basis. I thought that maybe you would be supporting me, but…”

“No, no. I am. Just… I don’t know. Don’t throw the opportunity away, because…”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity?” he asked, feeling the anger inside bubble.

Malfoy shook his head. “No. Because life is stupid. It makes twists and turns you can’t expect and when you think you’ve figured it out, you die.”

Even though, he really didn’t want to, Harry started to laugh and shook his head. “Come on, don’t be so negative! Life should be fun!”

“Has it ever been fun for you?” Malfoy asked and sighed.

Harry smiled weakly. “That’s why I’m still alive, Malfoy. To find out, what it actually means to be alive and to have fun.”

“Well, you’re doing a shitty job at that.”

Harry laughed again and could see a small smirk on the Slytherin’s face. In his book – that was a win.


	25. New Problems every Time you turn around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Harry's therapy session, he meets Malfoy to go to dinner.

“Can I just talk about something?”

Harry sat in Angelica’s beige or white room again. Monday hadn’t been all that bad. He was still worried about Hermione and Ron had offered to babysit the marauders, still feeling bad for letting him deal with them alone over Halloween.

The lessons today had been okay; however, the best part was watching Zabini trying to hex Malfoy and it not working. Naturally, he had narrowed his eyes, but probably expected for someone to put a shield up. He still seemed oblivious to the fact that his wand was actually just a stick, a cheap copy of his original wand. Funnily enough, if he wouldn't stick to his wand all that much, it would have probably still worked, but the Slytherin seemed to have some problems with wandless magic.

Angelica smiled and nodded. Harry had to admit that he liked her very much. She accepted everyone, for example Malfoy, and was not trying to get him to talk about something he didn’t want to talk about. After they had spent half the time circling the topic of the marauders, he felt he needed to be blunt; hopefully, she would at least try to understand. He couldn’t really send her to McGonagall, because the only people that knew were the Golden Trio and the professors. The professors wouldn’t be talking to Angelica about time travelers and Harry was pretty sure that neither Hermione nor Ron knew who the Mind Healer was. That only left McGonagall, which would tell the headmistress that he was actually in therapy. And he was not ready for that.

“Well?” Angelica asked and smiled warmly.

Harry sighed and rubbed his hands against each other. “It’s… It’s slightly… complicated.” He looked at her and got an encouraging nod. So he took a deep breath and started. “About two weeks ago, I was studying in the library and when I went back to the Gryffindor tower, I… I encountered three people with a Time Turner.”

Another look at Angelica told him that she was just letting him talk without asking questions. He really appreciated this right now. “I… I realized immediately who they were. So I brought them to the Gryffindor tower and we told Professor McGonagall what happened. They had accidentally destroyed their Time Turner and are now stuck in this time line.”

Angelica was still looking at him encouragingly, seemingly waiting for something else, but Harry wasn’t quite sure how to explain the rest.

“Harry, who are they?” she asked a little concerned.

Harry felt his hands shaking a little and took another deep breath. “It’s… it’s… the former professor Remus Lupin, my… my godfather Sirius Black and… and…” Harry couldn’t talk anymore. His voice was stuck somewhere inside his body, but Angelica had already guessed the next person.

“Your father, James Potter.”

He simply nodded, staring at the ground. “It was really hard on Friday. I knew that on Saturday was Halloween and my parents’ death day. It never really bothered me, until I was face to face with his younger self. And… I… I don’t know what happened.”

“Well, I can’t quite say that your situation is normal. Given your track record, though, I doubt anything happening to you is. Now, what is normal, however, is your reaction. It’s the first time where you’re not being hunted by a psychopath. Your nerves aren’t on high alert all the time and you don’t have to be in a flight or fight mode day and night. That can cause all kinds of things to happen. One of those things is that you start accepting everything that has happened to you. This process is hard – even harder when you’re surrounded by people who remind you of your past all the time. On Friday, how did you calm down?”

Harry felt himself blushing and rubbed his hands against each other again. It was odd how this simple gesture was calming him down a little. “Malfoy… Draco helped me calm down.”

Angelica nodded and smiled. “If I were you, I’d ask him to keep an eye out for you. If he could calm you down, he might be able to help you in daily problems as well.”

“He… he doesn’t know about my father and his friends being here” Harry shook his head. He sure as hell was never going to let him find out. Maybe he would have another breakdown and one breakdown in front of his former nemesis seemed to be enough.

“That’s okay. You know, everyone has bad days. Maybe you could help him as well.”

Harry simply nodded, a little taken aback.

“How was Halloween in the end?” she asked, after they had been quiet for a while.

“Better than I expected. I made them clean a room with me and it didn’t even seem too bad. Friday was the worst. I think it was because I was anticipating things that would have never happened, basically I imagined the worst.”

Angelica nodded. “In that case, I think you’re doing quite well, wouldn’t you say so?”

Harry smiled honestly. “Yes, indeed. It’s a lot better than before.” At least, he was hoping so.

When they parted and Harry stepped out of her room, he saw Malfoy at his usual spot, sitting on the floor with a book, ink, parchment, quill and satchel surrounding him. So, apparently, he had added more details of what Harry had told him to do. He waited a few moments, trying to find out whether or not the Slytherin was actually reading and not just pretending, and it appeared as if he was. He walked closer and smiled weakly.

“Hey there, Malfoy. What are you reading?”

The Slytherin looked up and assessed him carefully. “Are you okay?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Don’t answer my question with another question!”

Malfoy chuckled, grabbed everything on the floor and placed it carefully in his satchel, before getting up and placing his book, he had been reading upside down, in Harry's hands.

“ _Potions and their addicting Characteristics_ ” Harry read aloud and frowned. “Why are you reading that?”

“Because it’s fun” the Slytherin grinned at Harry’s eye-roll. “No really! It explains all kinds of potions and then shows the plants or whatever that make it addictive. I’ve been trying to come up with alternate plant remedies or something to make them less addicting. The only thing that had worked so far is the Dreamless Sleep Potion.”

Harry smiled softly. “I wouldn’t worry. You’re pretty good at Potions, so you’ll find the rest eventually.”

“So, are we still on at eight?” he asked as they walked to the Great Hall.

Malfoy nodded. He was suddenly very tense and Harry could see just why. The three Slytherin girls were placed outside the Great Hall with none other than Zabini himself. They seemed to rile themselves up to the point of explosion, which was about to happen.

Harry grabbed the Slytherin’s arm and continued to walk as if nothing was going on. Sometimes, that was the best way for dealing with bullies, when they’re preoccupied. If you hesitate, they’ll find you. Right now, they walked by them so calm and normal, that the four Slytherins just kept talking. Harry could even hear some of the sentences and was disgusted by it.

“… if we hex him with the Jelly-Legs-Curse, he can’t walk away.”

“No, don’t use that. We should use something hurtful!”

“Like make him explode!”

“Better idea: disintegration! My grandfather told me that spell. I will definitely use it on him once…”

They had entered the Great Hall and Malfoy looked even paler than he already was. Harry had no idea how to make him feel better, so he just kept holding his arm and seated him next to Ron, who was discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the Reducto Curse with the marauders.

“What’s going on, Malfoy?” he asked, as soon as he realized there were other people next to him and when he saw Harry’s worried glance at the Slytherin.

Malfoy apparently wasn’t keen on answering, so Harry decided to do so. “There are some Slytherins in front of the Great Hall, waiting for him, so they can dissipate him.”

Ron shook his head. “Let me guess: Zabini’s with them?”

Harry simply nodded and Ron huffed angrily. Before he could say something, though, Malfoy cut in. “Please don’t do anything stupid. They’re just angry because I got away from being sent to Azkaban. If you do something, they might send you there for some time.”

“Who knew the ferret would be such a softy on the inside?” Ron grinned, but promised to keep his hands off of Zabini. He did, however, also promise not to give him the real wand back for at least another month, which made the Slytherin grin a little.

He turned to Harry and raised his eyebrows. “Potter?”

Harry shook his head. “I will certainly not promise not to do anything.”

Malfoy frowned. “There are too many negatives in this sentence. Just promise me you won’t do anything against them?”

“I’m the damn Golden Boy! They literally cannot send me to Azkaban! I mean, I already should be there, I’ve killed someone!” Too late did he realize that his father and Sirius were sitting on the opposite side of the table. Only when a knife hit a plate did he look up to see his father with an aghast expression on his face.

Well, great. Now they knew. They were probably going to ask him into oblivion, just to get the answer as to why he would kill someone. Ron bit his lips and looked down on his plates, while Harry suddenly felt Malfoy’s hand on his arm, softly pulling his fingers away from drawing blood.

“Did you not know what happened here?” The Slytherin asked the two time travelers.

“Please, Malfoy, don’t. They’re not supposed to know!” Harry shot him a pleading look, but the other man simply shook his head.

“I will not say any names that way they won’t realize who I’m talking about. But they need to know the history, if they want to understand everyone’s dead eyes.”

Harry really felt like he should intervene, but he just couldn’t. Malfoy was right, and he hated it. They had been asking a lot of questions, not only about what happened to them, but also about why some students walked around constantly looking over their shoulders, scared by every loud noise. They had already seen the wall with all the names and the longer he thought about it, the less he could actually find to say against the Slytherin’s argument.

“A very bad man, who was responsible for some bad stuff, came back when we were in our fourth year. His only goal was to firstly, kill Potter and secondly, dominate the world and make the Wizarding World come out of hiding.”

Both time travelers looked at Ron or Harry to confirm what the blond wizard just said. They simply nodded. James' eyes were full of surprise and sorrow. Did he already know what was happening? Did someone tell him why Harry was called the Boy Who Lived? Harry really didn’t want Malfoy to continue, maybe he would reveal something important to them, but as he was about to interrupt the Slytherin, he just gave him an evil look and continued.

“In seventh year, Potter, Weasley and Granger skipped school completely, to do God knows what and when they came back, the Da… the bad man, he realized it and came after them as well. So we had a fight, the Battle of Hogwarts. We proved once and for all, that professors aren’t meant to be messed with and that we could fight for ourselves. Potter had been teaching a group of students who all fought at the Battle of Hogwarts, even students who had already finished education, came back to face that man and to fight for their believes.”

They were all occupied in the story, Malfoy was telling them. Harry could see his father’s eyes grow bigger and bigger, even Sirius had an almost entranced look about him. The Slytherin had made a dramatic pause, in which he looked at them and then back at Harry. In that moment, he realized that the Slytherin was going to say it. He was going to say that Harry had sacrificed himself. That he had died.

“No, Malfoy. No. I will not let you tell them, what happened in the forest.”

The Slytherin shrugged his shoulders. “You really should.” Harry shook his head.

Ron stared at both of them frowning until he seemingly realized what their discussion meant. “Hold on! How come Malfoy knows what happened between you and Vo…” he interrupted himself and looked towards Harry’s father. “…and that man, but neither me nor ‘Mione do?!”

Harry sighed and rubbed his temple. He hadn’t even taken a bite of his dinner, yet. And he was feeling really ill already. “Because, he tricked me into…”

“No, I didn’t.”

With a half meant angry look, he stared at the Slytherin. “Couldn’t you just take the blame this once?”

“No, I learnt I had to stand up for myself. Therapy, you know?” the blond wizard said and winked. He seemed to make sure that neither Ron nor the two marauders were seeing it.

“Okay, I… we played a game of… truth or dare and he made me tell him what happened. Just one sentence, he doesn’t know more than that” Harry said, concealing the truth a little. Malfoy seemed to be okay with that.

Ron, on the other hand, was not. “How come, he gets to know?! One sentence is more than the rest of us know!”

“I’m sorry, okay? I won’t talk about it, though. Never again” Harry shook his head and stared down on his plate. Malfoy seemed to realize he had overstepped a little and stayed quiet. Ron was still angry and the marauders just seemed to be lost and were thinking.

In the mean time, the Slytherins standing outside had spotted Malfoy in the Great Hall, sitting at the Gryffindor table. And even next to Harry and Ron. Once Harry had looked up from his table again, he could see their disgusted faces and dirty looks they were throwing at them.

“Malfoy, let’s go brewing something. I’m not really hungry, anymore. You?” Harry asked quickly and got up.

The Slytherin followed his example and the left the Great Hall. Apparently, his teacher had been prepared even though they weren't supposed to meet for another hour, because he had all he needed was in his satchel, so they simply walked down into the dungeons and opened the secret room.

“Potter, listen, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to… to make you tell your friend what happened in the forest.”

Harry sighed and watched as Malfoy distracted himself by placing a cauldron on a table and rummaging through the ingredients.

“Malfoy, could you just turn back into the abnormally stupid git you were before the war? I could handle that much better.” Harry sat down on the floor, burying his face in his hands. He felt the other man sitting down next to him. Not close enough to touch, but close enough to invade his personal space.

“Not really, no. That Draco Malfoy was completely taken in by his father’s perspectives, hated Muggleborns and also would have done literally anything to please his father or anyone in power as a matter of fact, including killing Dumbledore.”

“You didn’t…”

“I know. I still would have… at least tried something.” It was quiet again in the small hidden room, before Malfoy continued talking. “If you don’t want me around, why did you ask me if we could start brewing a potion?”

Harry looked up and was immediately lost in Malfoy’s grayish eyes, which seemed to transform into a whirlwind. But the look of pain and sorrow made him answer rather quickly.

“It’s not… That’s not it, Malfoy. I… It’s that you seem to be the only one around here who can keep me sane.”

The Slytherin was now smiling at Harry, all be it a little careful. “Two comments for that: Are you telling me, we have a Finnigan-Thomas-Situation here? And second: What about your friends? Can’t they keep you sane?”

Harry wanted to answer, but he somehow didn’t know what he should say. Was it just the same as Dean and Seamus? These two couldn’t live a second without each other. He could most certainly live without Malfoy. So, no. It wasn’t the same.

“I don’t think we’re like Dean and Seamus. We’re more like Malfoy and Potter” Harry said grinning as he saw Malfoy rolling his eyes. “As for the second comment or rather question… They can definitely keep me sane, but I don’t know. It seems to work better, when you’re around.”

Since Malfoy didn’t immediately answer, Harry glanced over to him only to see him smiling at the floor and tracing the edges of a stone with his fingers. When the Slytherin felt his eyes on him, he looked up and blushed a little bit.

“Well, I’ve no idea how to behave, to be honest. You know, as a nicer Draco Malfoy-version. Sometimes, I… uh… I…” he had serious trouble saying whatever was going through his mind. Harry frowned for a second, but looked at him curiously and open-minded. “I ask myself how y… youwouldbehaveinmysituation” he mumbled the rest of the sentence so quickly, probably hoping that Harry wouldn’t understand.

However, Harry had definitely heard him and smiled softly. “I would probably not do half as well as you are now” he grinned and chuckled when the Slytherin turned away to undoubtedly hide his burning red face.

Harry took a deep breath and smiled at the embarrassed man. “So, you think I should tell them?”

Malfoy got serious again and nodded slightly. “They’re your best friends. I would definitely tell them. I mean, this year is basically as normal as it can get and I’m pretty sure most eight years see this year as a way to get over the war and then restart their lives. They… In my opinion, they need to know. If not now, then in the near future.”

Harry nodded. Normal year – yeah right. But for everything else, Malfoy had gotten to the heart of everyone’s feelings towards the eighth year.


	26. What to do with down Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malfoy has another DADA lesson and the next day brings a little bit of tension.

They had gotten into a routine with the marauders being around – even if there were only two at the moment, so that Harry saw this Tuesday as a normal day.

Yesterday, Malfoy had shown him how to brew a Regeneration Potion while teaching him the importance of following the instructions to a point. It was all in the details, which he learned quickly enough. They had then discussed a bigger topic. The Slytherin actually wanted them to brew Felix Felicis. Apparently, he had nicked the required ingredients from Snape, but never actually managed the time to brew it. His plan was to finish the potion just before Christmas so it could start brewing and develop the typical characteristics, even while they were on Christmas break. Harry had to admit he very much liked the idea.

So, Tuesday had been quite a normal day, the only exception being the nervousness of the marauders. It wasn’t much Remus’ transformation that seemed to stress them but rater it being the first time since they’d arrived in the future.

While they went to visit a still sane Remus right after dinner, Harry met Malfoy in the Room of Requirement to teach him one last time the Patronus. After that, the Slytherin had to decide whether or not he wanted to continue. They had agreed that the hidden room was only going to be their potions classroom, while the Defense Against the Dark Arts would happen in the former D.A. room or simply, the Room of Requirement.

“Can’t we train with an actual dementor present? That way, I’ll know I can produce a Patronus even while in danger!”

Harry smiled a little. “To be honest, I thought about it, but I don’t think we can find one just like that.”

“Isn’t your boggart a dementor?” Malfoy frowned and placed his satchel close to the mirror.

“It definitely was. I don’t know whether or not that’s changed” Harry was quiet and looked at the Slytherin rather curious. “Also, there shouldn’t be much danger around here. Voldemort’s dead and the dementors have been let go – I believe.”

Malfoy bit his lips clearly nervous. He seemingly decided to let Harry in on his little inner debate. “For you, it might be safe. I’m a Death Eater, Potter.”

“Former Death Eater.”

Malfoy shrugged. “People don’t care. They want to see me punished.”

Harry shook his head. “Okay, if you produce a stable Patronus, I will teach you how to send a message to me – via Patronus. So if you ever feel you’re in danger, you can call me and I’ll be there…”

“… to save me.” Malfoy rolled his eyes. “Your hero complex is starting to get annoying.”

Harry laughed. “What! After eight years it’s only just getting annoying? I thought it annoyed you ever since I saved Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets!”

The Slytherin looked at him with both eyebrows raised. “You’re joking, right? The Chamber of Secrets doesn’t exist!”

“Yes, you’re right.”

Malfoy nodded, glancing over at him, ever so often, after they’d stopped talking and he produced three beautiful, bluish dragonflies. Harry taught him how to talk through a Patronus and at the end, the very tired Slytherin walked away to grab his stuff.

Suddenly, he turned around and frowned. “Is the Chamber of Secrets as unreal as the Deathly Hallows?”

Harry was impressed. He would have guessed that Malfoy would need at least a week to find the problem with him admitting that the chamber was fake.

“Maybe.”

Malfoy stood dead in his tracks and stared at him. “Potter! It’s real, isn’t it?!”

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. “It is.”

“Can I see it? Can you tell me, where it is?”

“No and sure.”

Malfoy frowned. “What?”

“I can show you where the entrance is, I doubt you will be able to go there and see it.”

The Slytherin apparently wasn’t willing to ask any questions, he simply glared at Harry, until he felt too uncomfortable and continued to explain on his own. “You can only open it by using Parseltongue.”

“Oh.”

Harry rubbed his temples. He could really see, how Malfoy was interested in seeing the Chamber of Secrets, but he didn’t feel like showing it right now. “How about this: I’ll give you the grand tour on Sunday?” he asked careful. He needed time to prepare himself for that kind of history.

The Slytherin nodded. They packed up and Draco stopped by the door, clearly waiting for something. Before he left, he turned towards Harry. “Aren’t you going to throw a chocolate bar at me?”

Harry smirked. “Do you want me to throw chocolate at you?”

Malfoy flushed and looked away, seemingly trying to appear angry. “No. I… I just thought… the last few times, you…” he stammered.

Harry grabbed a chocolate bar and threw it at the other student, to end his suffering and also to hide the fact that his stammering was about to color Harry’s face probably deep red. Malfoy stopped speaking, snatched the chocolate from the ground, placed it in his satchel and vanished. Harry smiled to the thin air and left the room as well, heading back to the Common Room.

*

The next day didn’t go as smoothly as Tuesday did. For once, Malfoy seemed like he hadn’t slept any amount of time and Zabini became much more aggressive towards all of them. They were quite lucky that his duplicated fake wand wasn’t working. Otherwise, they all would have been in a lot of trouble.

The marauders spent all their time in the Shrieking Shack, comforting Remus who, from what Ron had told him, was almost over the edge yesterday and needed someone to calm him down.

Hermione still wasn’t back and McGonagall had told him that she hadn’t received any news about the broken Time Turner. Ever since Malfoy had tried to get Harry talking about his death, Harry had avoided being alone with Ron and always tried to come up with something – not even remotely related to the forest incident – to talk about.

After the morning double Potions, in which they were creating a Regeneration Potion (which Herbology would later use) and Harry was a little suspicious of Malfoy for having taught him the exact same potion a day before, Harry walked to the library to study a bit more. Once he settled at a table, a few more eight years walked in. Neville immediately greeted Harry, sat down at his table and started reading a book about the immortality spell, he and Malfoy had discussed a few days ago.

With the eighth year students, said Slytheirn was also among them, but as Harry looked over to him, the three Slytherin girls blocked his way to walk deeper into the room. How come they were always around him? He wasn't even sure if they had a free period right now... It seemed as if they were obsessed with him and not in a good way. Well, no obsession was good.

Harry wasn’t sure whether or not he should just let it play itself out, but as one girl drew her wand on Malfoy and disarmed him in mere seconds, the Slytherin looked around for some help and Harry got up and stepped between the two parties.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked the Slytherin girls who looked at him dreamily. Did they attack Malfoy, because they wanted Harry to intervene?

“We were doing you a favor!” one girl said with a dreamy voice. It had not the same effect as Luna’s voice had. She was normally just dreamy. This girl seemed to be a little more aggressive and also willing to go any lengths for whatever she wanted.

“Well, in that case, leave him alone. As a favor to me.” Harry rolled his eyes, accio’d Malfoy’s wand and dragged him out of the circle of Slytherins.

Once the girls were gone, he let go of him and apologized, while giving him his wand back. “I know, you don’t like me saving people, so I’m sorry for saving you. It won’t happen again.”

Malfoy shook his head. “No, it’s… it’s fine. Thank you.”

Harry stood dead in his tracks and looked at the Slytherin. “Really? Suddenly, you’re okay with it?”

“Well, no. But I was panicking and you actually helped me not to kill anyone. So thanks.”

“No worries.”

Malfoy walked to an empty table and sat down, burying his face in his hands. Harry debated if he should sit next to him and talk, however, it felt like pushing his luck, so he sat down at his table where Neville had followed everything.

“I have to say…” Neville started but simply grinned, when Harry shot him an annoyed look. “What if I tell him, that you don’t just save people, but people you care about?” he asked quietly.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Please don’t. It’s much more effective if he thinks I’m saving everyone.”

“Effective?” Neville wondered.

Rubbing his temples, Harry thought about how he could explain this. “You know… He won’t think he’s in my dept every time I help him.”

Neville shrugged his shoulders, but didn’t say anything else even though Harry could definitely see he wanted to add something. 

They stayed in the library until lunch, when everyone packed up and went to eat. Harry was surprised to see the two marauders already sitting at the Gryffindor table, eating something. He did realize that Sirius was once again getting something to eat for Remus.

“How’s Re… Richard?” he asked, looking around for people who could potentially listen in on their discussion.

Just then, Neville sat down and looked at the two remaining time travelers. “Right! Where’s he anyway? I haven’t seen him around for almost a week or something.”

“St. Mungo’s” Sirius answered. “He got sick, something really contagious.”

Neville looked a bit worried. It warmed Harry’s heart. Even though Neville hadn’t had that many interactions with Remus or Richard, because they always sat with Harry and his best friends, he worried about them as well. Maybe it was just his character.

“He’s doing a bit better than this morning” James answered and smiled at Neville, though Harry knew it was the answer to his question.

“Good. Hopefully, tomorrow everything will be over.”

Sirius nodded grinningly. “The healers have confirmed that he might be back tomorrow.”

The rest of lunch and in fact all of the day went fast and without any problems. When night started, Harry brought the marauders to the castle entrance, where they transformed and headed off. When he turned around, he saw a cat looking at him for a second and walking after the wolf and stag. Harry knew McGonagall was going to keep an eye on the three marauders. Hopefully, everything went according to plan and Remus was in fact asleep.

When he entered the Common Room, he was faced with an unusual picture. It was almost empty, since Dean and Seamus had planned a Party for the entire Hogwarts student body as a kind of unity celebration. Harry was sure that all the professors knew about it, but let it slide because it was sort of what they had wanted to achieve. Everyone getting along with each other.

The only people in the Common Room were Millicent and Malfoy. The latter was sobbing quietly on her shoulders. Harry had stopped dead in his tracks, but decided not to interrupt any of them. So he snuck into his dormitory as quietly as he could.

It had definitely been a weird picture, but it also made him smile. If he thought about how much Malfoy hated Millicent all these years (though not as much as he’d hated Hermione) and now, they seemed to have made up and he even let his guard down in front of her. Millicent on the other hand, could do that with everyone, even if she had hated them or they hated her before.

In his room, he opened the small window and looked outside. A lot of owls flew into the dark night. He felt his heart ache. Those were the moments he missed Hedwig the most. But he also couldn’t just get a new owl and forget about the very first birthday present that meant something.

He got on his bed and looked for the Transfiguration book they were supposed to read. However, it was so confusing that Harry didn’t even understand one simple sentence and he had to re-read every oher sentence as well, word for word.

While he was reading at the open window, the door opened and Malfoy walked in. Harry had heard him, but pretended to be reading. If he wanted to keep their tradition, he should turn it upside down. However, not willing to intrude into something so personal, that the Slytherin was crying with Millicent, he simply remained in a position of reading and listened intently, what was going on.

“You suck at pretending, Potter” Malfoy said rather close to him. Harry raised his head and saw the other man standing a few feet away from him, clearly assessing him.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t know anybody else was here. I really didn’t want to interrupt what was going on in the Common Room.”

“Well, you didn’t. That’s why you’re down here, right?”

Harry smiled weakly. “Sure.” Malfoy still had red eyes from all his crying, but Harry wasn’t going to tell him that. As long as he wasn’t going to the party – which he probably wasn’t, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem.

“Are you okay now, or did you want me to leave?” Harry asked careful.

The Slytherin shook his head. “It’s okay. Really.” He was looking as if he wanted to say something else, but walked quickly down to the bathroom.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. If he didn’t want to tell him that was fine. As long as he was doing a bit better. Maybe he could ask Millicent what it had been about, but she wouldn’t answer that question. It was probably written in the Slytherin honor code or something.


	27. Not such a good Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has a hard time in therapy, while Malfoy tries to help him

Remus was back. He looked tired and sad, but he was back. The marauders were happily back together for some more school and of course, babysitting.

While Harry brought his father and friends to the Herbology classes on Thursday, Ron walked to Hogsmeade to apparate to St. Mungo’s and find out how Hermione’s parents were doing. While they were waiting for Sprout to open the doors, a fifth year girl walked up to Harry and held a parchment.

“This is from Professor McGonagall” she said almost whispering, as if she was scared of him.

Harry thanked her smiling, hoping that this would help her being less scared of him, but she still looked at him, as if he was a ghost.

“What’s her problem?” Sirius asked quietly, when she hid between the other fifth year students again.

“Well, I am kind of famous around here” Harry grinned, even though he really didn’t want to. At least Remus and James rolled their eyes, which made him chuckle a little bit. When Sprout opened the door and the students walked in, Harry read the parchment.

> _We need to talk about Time Turners as soon as possible._

Harry shrugged his shoulders and went to the headmaster’s office. She probably wrote Time Turners instead of singular, because she didn’t want anybody reading this being suspicious. Right now it could just be a formal way of explaining, what happened three years ago… three years? It had actually only been three years... Harry frowned. It felt like it had been longer than three years. At least four or something.

When he knocked, the door opened and McGonagall smiled at him. “Potter, come on in.”

She wasn’t alone. Kingsley sat once again on the opposite side of the table, which suited Harry just as much. Now, he didn’t need to send an owl and he could ask him to tell the Aurors not to send any more letters, or he would be giving them to Ron.

“Harry, good morning. I’m sorry for disturbing you this early.”

Harry smiled. “No problem, Kingsley. We have to be awake this early if we want breakfast” he chuckled. Kingsley returned the smile and turned to McGonagall once again.

“As I was saying, I believe the Time Turner has been broken before they got it. This means, something is missing. We only have pictures left of all the Time Turners, so we’re not exactly sure what is broken and we also do not know how long it will take us to rebuild this part. Do you maybe have any idea of the past, what part was broken?” he asked.

The headmistress simply shook her head. “I know that the Time Turner was on my table, when it disappeared, but the very next day is was back with a note from Dumbledore saying it had been fixed already. I only know that it was broken, nothing more.”

Harry was surprised to learn that McGonagall knew about the Time Turner. But it was also hopeful. Not only for him, but for the Ministry as well. It meant that they were going to fix it and everything was going to be okay, eventually.

“Well, it was worth a try” Kingsley said, shrugging his shoulders and thanking the headmistress. Before he turned to leave, he nodded towards Harry and asked him “Have you gotten the letter sent by the Head Auror?”

Harry simply nodded, so Kingsley continued. “I know you’re not interested in joining anymore, but they would be happy to have you. Maybe you could think about it?”

“I will think about it, because it’s you. But tell the Aurors not to keep their hopes up. If they really want a new Auror, they should be looking at Ron.”

Kingsley smiled. “Well, keep it a secret from Ron, please. The Aurors have already decided to give him the same treatment they give you. As soon as he applies to become an Auror, he will be accepted without an entry test. Fighting with you, to defeat the dark side, and winning is all they need.”

Harry grinned. So, Ron would actually get his wish! He couldn’t be happier for him! Kingsley nodded to both Harry and McGonagall and left through the floo. As soon as the Minister was gone, he could feel the headmistress’ look on himself, so he sat down across from her and waited.

After a while, she started talking. “Potter, I have to remind you, not to talk about what you’ve heard here. Not even with Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley.”

Once he nodded, she was less serious, but still remained in an authoritarian position. “As for the topic of a Mind Healer, I would like to see you visiting one at least once a week. We have two different Mind Healers here at Hogwarts, so you could really decide which one you would prefer.”

 _I already have one twice a week_ , Harry thought. He didn’t want to tell her. Yes, it was selfish, but even the Chosen One should be able to keep secrets. Not everyone had to know what he was doing all day long. The only problem was that he had to lie to McGonagall about it.

“I’ll think about it.”

The headmistress frowned at him, but quickly decided to keep it his choice. “Do think about this one, truly, Mr. Potter. It might do you well.”

He nodded and left, once they had talked about everything. There wasn’t much more to say. Without Malfoy, he would have never even considered a Mind Healer and now he didn’t want anybody knowing. Not even Ron or Hermione, who both had on separate occasions and sometimes even at the same time suggested a Mind Healer for him. So why wasn’t he comfortable with them knowing?

Harry pondered over this question for the whole day, only when it was around half past four, he realized that he had to quit fake reading about transfiguration and start packing for another therapy session.

Once again, as Harry walked the familiar corridor, a familiar person sat on the floor, reading a book upside down. Chuckling softly, Harry decided to wait and watch. He still had ten minutes and Malfoy wasn’t really expecting him just yet, seeing that he normally was rather just on time than early.

The Slytherin was biting his lower lip, narrowing his eyes and then turned the book around to read a word properly, but then turned book on his head again. Was he actually reading like that? It weirdly warmed Harry’s heart to see that. He had no idea why. Well he didn’t know why it warmed his heart, but he also didn’t know why Malfoy would go to such lengths learning how to read a book upside down, just so Harry could laugh at him.

He started walking closer to the Slytherin and sat down next to him. The man startled and rolled his eyes.

“Why so early, Potter?”

Instead of answering, Harry just grinned and decided to ask a question as well. “Why are you still reading a book upside down?”

Malfoy shrugged. “You should try it sometimes. I understand so much more, because I now have to read every word carefully. It works with hard to read books.”

Harry chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think so. You just want me to make a fool out of myself!”

“That would be the byproduct, yes. I would love to see you sitting in the Common Room, while Granger or Weasel walk in and see you reading a book on its head. If you decide to do that, please let me know, so I can be there and see their reaction.”

This time, Harry burst out laughing. He got up and grinned at Malfoy. “If I decide to read a book upside down, I will tell you.”

“Thank you, oh Chosen Idiot.”

Harry shook his head, grinning, and walked to his therapy session. He looked back over his shoulders and made short eye contact with Malfoy, before he immediately turned to his book.

This time, the hour with Angelica seemed to go on and on forever. The topics were hurtful and Harry wasn’t ready for anything. They changed topics quicker than they had started them, Angelica writing a lot of words, probably all the topics they couldn’t discuss and he wasn’t ready to touch. In the end, they settled with talking about everything that happened in the Dursley’s home. At least that topic, Harry could stomach. Or so he thought.

“So, what you’ve told me so far: You had to live in a small cupboard, never gotten any real presents, you had to work with cleaning and cooking and your cousin tried to hurt you more than once. You got beaten by your aunt or uncle, if you accidentally let something burn or you hadn’t cleaned properly and you tell me, you think it’s normal?” Angelica summarized what Harry had told her over the last half hour.

Harry simply nodded. “It was their way of dealing with me. I think that’s what kept me grounded.”

“Well, there are a few ways to stay on the ground when you’re dealing with stardom, none of those require getting beaten and threatened for several months and years before Hogwarts.”

Angelica stayed quiet, probably for Harry to realize that she was right, but he just didn’t want to see it.

“Harry” she started again, this time even calmer, as if she had to prepare herself for this question. “When was the first time, they hit you?”

“It wasn’t even that many time! Maximum ten times, every parent probably had the surge to slap their child across the backside…”

“Harry.”

He stopped and bit his lower lip. This time, he could even feel his fingers, digging in his arms and he stopped. He really didn’t want to tell her. Would she be okay, if he just pretended to ignore her? Just one look at her worried face, made him feel guilty.

“I think I… I was five. I don’t… I don’t really remember what happened before I was five.”

Angelica simply nodded and wrote something down. Harry sighed internally. Why did he decide it was a good idea to start talking about the Dursleys? He could have just started talking about the Horcrux hunt. That one seemed more interesting and less hurtful. At least less hurtful than this. Also, he could have talked about Malfoy saving his sorry ass life in the Manor.

There were no more questions asked, as their session was over. As soon as it happened, Harry walked out and found Malfoy still sitting on the floor. Without saying much, he sat down next to him and buried his face in his hands. The Slytherin seemed to understand rather quickly, that Harry wasn’t feeling well enough.

“Come on, we can skip dinner.”

Harry felt, how he was pulled to his feet and then led through the castle to their dormitory. Since most people were eating dinner, it was completely deserted.

Harry sunk to the floor in front of his trunk, pulled his knees closer to his body and held them close, while hiding his face between his legs. He could feel Malfoy’s worried look on him, but didn’t have the strength to answer.

Only after a few minutes, Harry realized the calmness in the air, everything seemed to be radiating off of Malfoy. He really was cooling him down and helping him, even though he never thought it was possible.

“Thank you” he whispered and raised his head, to see Malfoy sitting across from him and smiling at him weakly.

“Don’t mention it.”

Harry placed his chin on his knees and looked to the ground. “I don’t even know why I’m like this.”

Malfoy shrugged. “Did you discuss any topics that were hard to talk about?”

“No” Harry shook his head. “We changed topics quite a lot. Ended up talking about the Dursleys.” At the confused look on the Slytherin’s face, Harry explained further. “My aunt and uncle.”

The other man nodded and they sat there in silence for the rest of the night, until Ron came in to update Harry on what’s going on with Hermione’s parents and Zabini rolled in, simply to glare at them all and close the curtains around his bed.

*

Harry wasn’t feeling good. The next two days went in a daze, he couldn’t remember anything really. The only thing he did remember was Malfoy having a nightmare Thursday night and him waking up his former nemesis, so he could maybe fall asleep without it. Other than that, nothing.

It was Sunday. Harry hadn’t done any homework, written no essay and hadn’t talked properly to his father and friends as well as Ron. Ron was probably still thinking that he was ignoring him for the comment about what happened in the forest, and his father and friends… who knew what they were thinking.

However, he had agreed to show Malfoy the Chamber of Secrets today. He was not up for it. Somehow, all the heavy things Angelica wanted to talk to him about, were still trying to get out. He needed his entire concentration on not letting anything escape, that he couldn’t prepare for taking the Slytherin to a place in his memory.

In addition, McGonagall seemed to have realized something was wrong, as she had called for him, Ron and the marauders. However, maybe she just had some new information. Maybe the Minister had found the problem with the Time Turner.

In fact, she wanted to talk to the marauders about what they did. “There has been a new problem with your Time Turner” she said towards the marauders, sitting on a couch at the far end of the office. “Apparently, when you grabbed the appliance, it had already been broken. Did you maybe see anything around there? Some small part that belonged to it?”

Sirius shook his head first, James followed then pondering. Remus glared at his two friends. “Are you saying, what happened was pure luck and that, worst case scenario, we could have died?” he asked the headmistress.

“Oh, I am merely pointing out my surprise to see you ending up right here. With whatever’s missing, the Minister told me, your chance of survival was essentially zero.”

Everyone was quiet. Harry felt once again his whole life on the line. If his father had messed up anything, he would have died or never existed.

Before anyone could talk, an all too familiar Patronus suddenly emerged from the walls. Three big dragonflies stopped in front of Harry. None of the people inside the headmistress’ office had the time to say something, when Malfoy’s voice sounded from the biggest dragonfly, painful and scared.

“Potter, help! Please!”

Without stopping, Harry dashed down the stairs, following the Patronus back to its master. Behind him, he could hear Ron and the marauders, as well as McGonagall. He turned around the corner, which led to the corridor right to the Great Hall and saw three familiar Slytherin girls, placing curses upon curses on the Malfoy heir lying on the floor. His wand was thrown closer to Harry.

Without hesitating, Harry cast a _Protego_ around Malfoy, picked up the wand and walked closer, his steps confidant and calm. Much calmer than he was on the inside.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?”

“That will be enough, Potter” McGonagall said, appearing next to him. “Please bring him to the Hospital Wing. Weasley, do help him.”


	28. Hard Decisions and hard Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco awakes in the Hospital Wing.

The last thing he remembered was casting a Patronus. He wasn’t even sure if he gave it a message, but he could only think of one person who would undoubtedly come to maybe rescue him: Harry freaking Potter.

He kept his eyes closed; scared that maybe he didn’t come. That he was still lying on the floor, trying to get away from those damn girls. Even though he could feel that he was in a bed, anything could be possible, maybe there was such a curse that would even make him feel safe, just to destroy his hopes.

A sudden sharp pain in his right arm made Draco suck in air and open his eyes. He could see the white ceiling and knew immediately that he was safe… or at least safer than before. When he turned his head, he saw a certain black haired wizard sleeping on a chair, rolled liked a cat, with a book in its obvious upside down state. He had to smile a little. The carefree and relaxed state of the normally so worried and pained looking man warmed his heart and made his stomach tingle a bit.

Of course the book was upside down. He had been doing this long enough, maybe Potter wanted him to smile the same way he always did, when he discovered the book Draco was reading was upside down. Or maybe, he was just reading too much into a small detail. Which he was used to, at least when it came to the Chosen Idiot.

Out of the blue, Madam Pomfrey appeared next to him. “Mr. Malfoy, how are you feeling?” she said quietly and performed another spell on him, probably to see if everything was okay.

“I’m okay. How long have I been out?”

The mediwitch smiled. “Almost two days. Luckily, the worst wounds are already healed. You might feel a little pain still, but that should subside in a few hours or at least tomorrow morning.”

Draco nodded and breathed calmly. He looked over to the sleeping Idiot and pointed towards him. “How long has Potter been here?”

Madam Pomfrey’s smile broadened. Draco could tell that whatever the Golden Boy did in the last two days was her favorite thing. “Professor McGonagall banishes him to the Common Room, every night; he’s still back here in the mornings. He only leaves for dinner and classes he deems important. He was also gone on Monday evening for an hour, other than that he has stayed here. You must have developed a very deep friendship.”

Draco nodded once again, carefully. Whatever it was between them… it was rather special and a little weird. Potter hadn’t left his side for more than a few hours. Why? Was it only worry or something more?

At least on his part, it was more. He knew he had a crush on him ever since the damn man had participated in the Triwizard Tournament. He had no idea if Potter felt the same way – probably not. So, friendship was the best thing he could hope for, even if it was destroying him a little.

Madam Pomfrey told him to stay in bed until the next morning, but promised to bring him something to eat – or have a house elf do it, before she left for her office.

In that moment, Potter stirred and the book fell to ground, which woke him up with a shock, so he fell backwards to the ground. Draco had initially wanted to stay still and watch how long it would take his former nemesis to realize he wasn’t sleeping anymore, but at the clumsiness of all this, he couldn’t remain silent and started laughing.

Potter looked up surprised and rolled his eyes annoyed. “Of course, you’re awake, whenever something bad happens to me. I didn’t do anything weird for two days, but the moment I fall out of my chair, you wake up…”

Draco laughed so hard, he could feel a little pain in his stomach, but he couldn’t stop. It was refreshing. No worries, nothing, just pure joy… or rather malicious glee. He wiped a few tears from his eyes and grinned at the Gryffindor, who by now sat back in his chair, book in his lap.

“Just for your information, Potter, I have been awake before your book fell down. It was, however, rather funny. So, thank you for that.” The Gryffindor rolled his eyes again, but Draco could see the slight smirk he was trying to hide.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I should thank you. You know… for saving me.”

Potter simply shook his head. “You saved yourself, Malfoy. You sent the Patronus, otherwise, I would have never found you.”

Draco frowned. How was this him saving himself? Apparently, the Patronus had worked, but still everyone could conjure a Patronus, so why should this be special?

“If you send for help, it’s the first step towards fighting for yourself. So, you saved yourself” the Gryffindor explained and smiled weakly. “I’m just glad, you’re still alive.”

“Didn’t want to see your nemesis dead?” Potter chuckled slightly and instead of answering, shook his head. Draco smiled back. “So, Madam Pomfrey told me, you were banned from staying the night?”

The Gryffindor eyes widened in shock, but he grinned at him soon enough. “Visitors aren’t allowed to stay the night, apparently. So I went back to the Common Room.”

Draco chuckled quietly. “To get your Invisibility Cloak?”

Potter blushed slightly and shrugged his shoulders. “They can’t blame me, I was worried about you!”

 _Why?_ Draco fought hard not to ask that question, but he couldn’t fight it for long. “Why were you worried?”

The Gryffindor looked at him, as if he has just asked him, why was carrying a wand. He frowned a little, before answering. “Well, because I’m always worried about my friends. And yes, that does include you.”

Before Draco could say anything, the door opened and a ginger man walked in. The Weasel stopped at his bed and smiled when he saw Draco half lying, half sitting there. “Hey, glad you’re awake! Our year will be happy to hear this – well, most of them anyway” he said smiling. Draco was a little confused.

“How are you both so nice to me?”

Weasley looked a little confused towards Potter and the latter asked him: “Have you lost your memory? What year do we have?”

“No. It’s 1998 and before you make me answer what happened in May this year, I will tell you that I won’t answer any question concerning your stardom!” he said rolling his eyes, before grinning at Potter.

Weasley shrugged his shoulders. “Well, okay. We’re nice to you, Malfoy, because we want to be friends. Is that wrong? Would you rather have us be enemies?”

Draco pondered over it, wondering what was going on. However, he couldn’t think for long, as Weasley gave Potter a small box, waved for goodbye and was gone again.

“What’s that?”

Potter looked up and grinned. “Ron sometimes brings me food, so I don’t have to leave” he answered, turning a little red. Very clearly to distract himself, he opened the box and looked inside, before grabbing something to eat, eyes locked on the food.

Draco smiled a little. This wasn’t a normal friendship. In a friendship, a comment like that shouldn’t have made him blush so quickly and he should still be able to look him in the eyes. He knew he had it bad for Potter. He was just never sure how the Chosen Idiot would feel about him. His body language had told him a lot, but sometimes he did things without realizing it, so maybe he had to wait for another few weeks, before he could ask something concerning this. He also had no idea whether or not the Gryffindor was actually gay. Until now, he had only been in relationships with women or so the Prophet told everyone. If he was to be in a relationship with a man, the Prophet would surely write about that.

“How was therapy?” he asked instead and was happy to see, that Potter looked a little more comfortable. In that moment, a loud crack, which startled the Gryffindor for a second, indicated a house elf bringing food. Once it left, Draco looked back at the dark haired wizard and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Potter rolled his eyes. “Oh, it was great, really. We discussed my childhood, which I keep asking myself why I had to tell Angelica about it. I always thought it was normal, but it turns out, nothing is, when it’s concerning me.”

Draco really wanted to know what he meant, but depending on how he would ask, Potter could shut down and start with a new topic just like that. He had gotten quite good at it.

“How so?” he started and decided to sprinkle a little sarcasm with it. “Why should your childhood be any different from all the other heroes?”

The Gryffindor laughed and almost spilled his food, which he had to hide quickly, since Madame Pomfrey just walked back into the hall. She looked at both young men for a short second grabbed a piece of parchment and a book and was gone again.

“You’re an evil one, Draco Malfoy!” Potter said grinningly, which made Draco blush. Luckily, the Chosen Idiot didn't see it. “I have no idea how other _heroes_ live, but I don’t think they’re getting beaten up or have to live in a room where they could only just fit a small mattress inside.”

Draco’s heart sank a little bit. He already knew about the cupboard under the stairs, but did they actually beat him? What for? He couldn’t stop picturing a small Harry Potter getting beaten up by relatives and locked inside the small cage if his.

“Don’t look so worried, Malfoy” Potter’s words brought him back to reality. “I can’t tell you how many bruises I’ve had because my cousin loved to play Harry Hunting. It’s supposedly quite a fun game.”

He could basically hear Potter’s hurt and anger, even though he had tried his best, to hide it behind a little sarcasm. The Gryffindor wasn’t as good in hiding his emotions as the Malfoy clan was.

“So, that’s what you’re talking about in therapy? How you were hunted by your cousin and hurt by your relatives?”

Potter simply nodded and moved his fork around the food box, without picking something to eat. Draco always thought that the Gryffindor’d had an amazing childhood – a lot of toys, friends, everything money could buy. Learning, that it wasn’t what he always thought, made him a little sad. It explained, however, his closeness to the ginger family. They had accepted him for who he was, not for his name, and so it made sense for him to feel at home there.

“Did you at least have any illuminating moments?” Draco asked quietly, before finally starting to eat.

“Well, only that I would never treat _my_ child like that. But I had that even before…”

Draco almost choked on what he was eating. A child? The Gryffindor glanced at him. “Are you okay?”

“You… you want a child?” Well, there went his hopes for something more. He should have known. The great Chosen One didn’t have some hidden problems – except for the ones that had to do with the war and apparently his childhood. Why should he be gay? He was the Boy Who Lived! No such famous people ever came out as gay, even if they were, he was probably going to hide it and pretend everything was okay. Marry a woman, maybe have a side piece. He was not going to be said side piece. All or nothing.

“Are you okay?” the Gryffindor repeated and looked at him frowning.

“Yes, what about that child?”

Potter looked at his food and raised his eyebrows. “I just… I just said that… I want children, start my own happy family, which I never had.”

Draco simply nodded and proceeded to eat his food in silence. He could feel that he had confused the other man and when he placed the plate in his bedside table and turned his back to the Gryffindor, he knew he had sent him a clear message. In fact, a few moments later, he heard the door open and close.

What was he thinking anyway? This was getting out of hand. His father would never even accept him being gay. He had to marry Astoria, have a few babies with her, preferably a son, so his lineage was going to continue. Even if Potter was gay and had a thing for him, it wasn’t going to happen. Unless that dark haired wizard was going to wait for ten years, so he could marry Astoria, have said kids and divorce her just to be with that idiot. Would it be worth it? His father would be livid. His mother might never talk to him again and maybe the kids would despise him, let alone Astoria, who had basically destroyed her life.

“I’m sorry, Potter” he whispered very quietly. Before he could think more about his destiny, he fell asleep.


	29. Time out... or something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The marauders finally confront him on who Harry killed, which makes him looking for some peace and quiet.

“Harry, what’s going on?”

It was late in the evening, probably around midnight; Neville had just snuck through the Common Room to walk the grounds and Ron walked by whistling some tunes again. Hermione sat down on the couch he had been sitting on, staring into the fire. On his lap, the book he had read whenever he had spent time around Malfoy, who apparently had turned back into the idiot he was before the war. He couldn’t understand how he had spent so many hours next to his bed, hoping he would wake up soon. Now that he had, it turned out he hated him.

Hermione had come back on Monday, everything was good. Her parents had gained some crucial memories back and they even remembered her. So she decided to continue her education, while visiting her parents on weekends.

Harry simply sighed and rubbed his eyes. He had no idea how he was supposed to explain what happened between Malfoy and him. Suddenly, everything had changed and he had no idea why.

“I… Can I tell you something?” he asked. It was time to tell Hermione and maybe even Ron that he was seeing a Mind Healer. At least then, he had something to talk about. Hermione smiled at him and nodded.

He nodded to himself. “You know, how you always told me to get a Mind Healer?” Hermione nodded as an answer and Harry smiled. “Well, I’ve been seeing one for the past three weeks and I…”

“Really?!” Hermione’s face lit up in excitement. She seemed truly happy for him. He smiled over her eagerness. “And is it helping? Is it going well?”

Harry chuckled softly. “Well, yes. I think it’s going well and it’s probably also helping. I don’t know yet. I have a lot of problems talking about stuff. But maybe someday it’s going to be better.”

Hermione grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. “You are amazing, you know that, right?”

He grinned and rolled his eyes. “Right back at you, ‘Mione.”

She smiled and stifled a yawned. “Well, I’m going to sleep. See you tomorrow.”

“Hey, wait! What did you do with the real Hermione Granger? She’d never go to sleep!” Harry said interested. She simply smiled and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.

“The real Hermione realized that she might need some sleep as well. Worrying about my parents was really hard and the healers sent me to a room where I could sleep and I realized that you sort of need sleep to survive.”

Harry chuckled and waved, as she disappeared behind the door to the girl’s dormitory. The only problem was that he was left with his own thoughts once again. And he still didn’t understand what made that sudden shift in Malfoy’s manner.

He sat by the fire, staring into its movements for about two hours, before he decided to go and find his own bed. Just then, Zabini walked in and saw Harry alone by the fire. Harry followed his every action, until he was gone as well.

Rolling his eyes, Harry lay down on the couch. He wasn’t going to the dorm, when he knew Zabini was still awake inside and probably plotting a way to have him eliminated as soon as he stepped one foot inside.

*

The next morning, Malfoy had been released. He stepped into the Great Hall and sat down at the Ravenclaw table, where was shortly joined by Luna.

Harry rubbed his temples, which didn’t go unnoticed by his father and friends. However, apparently, they were angry at him as well, so they didn’t talk and he had no idea why. Ever since he had started hanging out on Malfoy’s bedside, they seemingly decided not to talk to him again. Ron had at least stopped trying to find out what Malfoy knew about the forest. Other than that is was a normal day.

It was another Thursday. Supposedly a normal day, until Harry brought the scowling marauders to their Herbology class. Shortly after they had left the castle and no one was in sight, Remus started talking.

“Who did you kill?”

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. He could see all three men staring at him as if he… well, as if he had killed some of them.

“It was me, right?” Sirius asked.

Harry frowned. “What?”

“You killed me, right?” Sirius repeated. 

“No.” Harry shook his head. “I wouldn’t kill my godfather. Listen, we already talked about it!”

“Who?” Remus’ question was like a knife. Harry rolled his eyes. He was definitely not going to have this conversation with his father and Sirius, who apparently had found out that he was dead.

Sirius stepped closer towards him, actually looking threatening, but Harry had stood against Voldemort, so he was not going to give in against his godfather. “Listen, we can’t…”

“No!” Sirius called out. He held up a newspaper Harry had kept in his trunk. So they were rummaging through his stuff, great. At least he had hidden the picture of his family under his bed in the cloak. The newspaper had a small article about what happened in the Ministry in his fifth year. The Daily Prophet hadn’t had all the details correct, they did, however, find out that Sirius fought and died.

Harry wasn’t in his top form. Otherwise, he would have ignored them and simply walked them to the Herbology class, but right now, he had no patience left.

“I didn’t kill you. I tried to save your life and in the end, you saved _my_ life.”

The three marauders stared at him quietly. Apparently, those two sentences were enough to make them believe he didn’t kill Sirius. 

Harry knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t stop. He had to say more. “My life was falling apart, seeing you die” he admitted and looked his godfather in the eyes. “It wasn’t even a Killing Curse, you shouldn’t have died and I make myself responsible for this. So, could we please not talk about this, anymore.”

His godfather had other ideas. “What if… What if we talked about what happened and I could undo this! I could still be alive and… and fight in the Battle of Hogwarts!”

Harry turned around, walking to the greenhouses, hearing the marauders walking behind him. He didn’t dare turn around, he could only just hold back the tears. The feelings of despair were back, it was like reliving how Sirius died. He really didn’t need this. Not now, not ever.

When they arrived at the greenhouses a little late, Sprout shooed them inside and Harry turned around quickly. He walked into the forest, looking for some peace and quiet, where no one would be disturbing him. He knew where he shouldn’t go, since the spiders definitely were going to eat him and the centaurs hated his guts, but as long as he didn’t touch their areas, he should be fine.

He sat down as soon as he didn’t want to walk anymore and leaned against a tree. He stared into the forest motionless and suddenly realized where he had gone. It was the place Voldemort had stood and killed him. He sat a few feet away from where he had lost his life. Tears started streaming down his face. What was he doing? He hadn’t felt this bad for a long time. No, actually that wasn’t true. Last time, he had felt this bad, he had almost forgotten how to breathe and Malfoy had helped him.

This time, he deliberately walked into the forest to be alone. Everyone wanted something from him. His father and friends wanted him to tell them how to undo their deaths. Hermione and Ron wanted him to finally talk about everything that happened to him during the war. They would freak out if they’d known he had actually died. Kingsley and basically every living person in the UK wanted him to become an Auror. McGonagall had asked him to join the staff after he had finished his Hogwarts education.

He couldn’t just be himself anymore. Everyone had a picture of him in their mind and how dare he decide for himself! Nothing he would do was going to be enough for anyone. On top of that, he also realized he had some demands of his own at his life as well. He wanted to be happy, in a relationship that was honest, loving and funny. He wanted children, so he could give them the life and love he never had. It wouldn’t even matter if they were adopted, in fact he would appreciate this so much more, and it would feel like he would be helping himself in a way. He wanted a normal life.

Normal was something he, Harry Potter, was never going to have. He was famous. Everything he would do was going to be amazing and in every newspaper. Or if he decided to do something outrageous, everyone would hear about it.

Inside the dark forest, time was unable to tell and Harry had no idea how long he had been sitting there, staring to the place where Voldemort stood. He didn’t feel any hunger, any cold, in fact, he wasn’t feeling anything anymore.

Suddenly, he heard voices through the forest. Calling his name. He could make out Hermione and Ron, but also Ginny and Luna. He wished he would have taken his cloak with him, so he could hide just a little longer. He hadn’t realized that it wasn’t so warm anymore and the sun was long gone.

He buried his face in his hands and hoped that if he wasn’t seeing anyone, no one was going to see him. Wasn’t that what always worked best? At least for children…

He heard footsteps and out of the blue a warm blanket, which was clearly charmed to stay warm, was wrapped around him. He didn’t look up, simply stayed like this and hoped to die, at least a little.

“Now, Potter, what were you thinking?” A soft voice said next to his ear. Harry looked up to see Malfoy frowning, kneeling on the dirty ground. He had his wand out, and was lit up by his Lumos spell. His eyes were full of worrying and he tucked him into the blanket a little more. He didn’t even seem to care about the ground.

“What are you doing here?” he asked croaking a little. “You hate me, don’t you?”

The Slytherin looked at him and smiled softly. “I don’t think you can hate a war hero, Potter.”

Harry let his face fall into the warm blanket and sighed quietly. That wasn’t what he was talking about. He wanted to know if _he_ hated him not in general. Of course the other man generalized this...

Malfoy seemed to understand what was going on, since he started talking again, lifting Harry’s head softly. “I don’t hate you, Potter. I don’t think I could ever hate you… you saved my life.”

Smiling sightly, Harry looked at the other man, but he could feel some tears once again running down his face. The Slytherin grabbed the corner of the blanket and softly cleaned his face.

He then shrugged his shoulders. “As to, what I’m doing here: I went to see Angelica and asked if I could have a session today and she gave me yours as you weren’t there. So after dinner I saw you weren’t with Granger or Weasley and no one had seen you all day long.”

Harry hadn’t realized it had been this long. Dinner was already over? Well, he wasn’t hungry anyway. He heard Hermione and Ron calling out again.

“Please don’t tell them where you found me” Harry whispered and looked over the Slytherin’s shoulder to the place in front of him.

Malfoy frowned and turned around. Suddenly, he seemed to understand. “It’s where you died, isn’t it?”

Harry nodded and hid his face again. The Slytherin grabbed his shoulders, rubbing them so there would be a little warmth inside his body. Even though Harry hated to admit this, it made him feel warm and comfortable and happy.

“Why did you decide to sit here?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Harry was just about to hurt himself, when the former Death Eater pulled him to his feet and got up at the same time. He wrapped the blanket around him correctly, refraining from looking into Harry’s eyes and turned him around so they could walk towards his best friends. Harry could still feel where the Slytherin had touched him to wrap the blanket around him. It was a weird feeling, especially since his hands were long gone.

As soon as he couldn’t see the place where he died, he relaxed a bit. Malfoy called for Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Luna. They all came immediately, Ginny falling around Harry’s neck and Hermione and Ron looked relieved to have finally found him.

Luna simply smiled at all of them. “See, I told you, that he’s doing well! No need to be worried.”

They walked back towards the castle, Harry leading the way. It was quiet until they reached the edge of the forest. Then Hermione walked up to him and looked extremely disappointed. “What were you thinking, Harry? We’re all worried about you. Please don’t do this again! Ever!” she shook her head and sighed. Maybe it had reminded her of the final Battle, where he walked into the forest alone.

Harry bit his lips and grabbed his arm under the blanket. Today was not a good day. He turned slightly away and found Malfoy seemingly debating something. He had apparently just decided what he was going to do, as he turned to Hermione.

“Could you please leave us alone for a minute?”

No one really seemed to like the idea, but Hermione dragged them all away, anyway. Harry could still see them, so he turned around. He felt a hand on his back leading him to the lake. It tingled slightly, where he felt the other man's hand. What was going on?!

“What’s going on, Potter? You haven’t been behaving normal, lately.”

Harry sighed and almost fell to the floor. Malfoy held him back and they sat down. “And what is normal to you?” Harry asked depressed.

Malfoy scratched his forehead. “I don’t know. But I know you and you’re not behaving like your normal you.”

“Yes, everyone knows me and knows what’s best for me, no need to think for myself. I could as well be an unfeeling idiot; I would still be praised well after my death.”

Malfoy was quiet and looked over the lake. He apparently didn’t know what to say. Harry didn’t blame him. If the blond wizard had reacted that way, he also wouldn’t know what to say next.

“I am sorry, by the way” Harry said to the Slytherin. “You know, for whatever I said or did in the Hospital Wing that made you react the way you did.”

The blond wizard shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I think I was way too deep inside my own head and took it out on you.”

Harry smiled softly and played with the grass on his feet. They stayed quiet for a while.

“I’m supposed to marry Astoria Greengrass, Daphne’s younger sister” Malfoy suddenly announced. Harry looked at him surprised. The Slytherin shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t have a say in this. My parents had made a deal with the Greengrass’ before I was even born. Now, everyone hopes that they keep the promise, because we’re not worth so much anymore.” The former Death Eater looked at Harry and smiled slightly. “I’m the only one who’s hopeful that they’ll break the promise. I don’t think I’d be happy there.”

Why would he tell him all of this? Harry wasn’t sure how to react, but decided to listen quietly. When Malfoy stopped talking, his curiosity got the best of him. “Why are you hoping this would happen?” he asked.

The Slytherin turned around, probably to see where the others were and turned back to Harry. “Keep this a secret, please: I’m gay. So Astoria’s not really my type.”

Harry was flabbergasted. He had no idea what to say. Should he say, he was sorry? But sorry for what… Or maybe that he now hoped he wasn’t going to get married to that woman? He was so slow in reacting, that he realized Malfoy had been grinning at him for the longest time.

“You know… It’s not really nice to stare at me like that, when you’ve told me a secret” Harry tried to get out of the situation.

Malfoy chuckled softly. “You have no idea how to react, don’t you?”

Harry laughed and snuggled deeper into the warm blanket. “I have absolutely no idea how to react.”

The Slytherin smiled. “See, that’s the _normal_ you. Are you feeling a little better?”

Harry shook his head. “Did you just tell me something sad about your life to make me feel better?”

“Maybe.”

Malfoy helped Harry to his feet again and they walked back to the little group waiting at the edge of the forest.

“Potter, Angelica will be seeing you tomorrow from five to six” Malfoy whispered quickly, before they reached his friends. Harry simply nodded. He had forgotten that he had a session today, so it was rather good that he could go tomorrow.


	30. Good Things happen from Time to Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Malfoy are competing in a potions' challenge together.

Harry had decided to tell his friends what happened that fateful night. Just not right now. After the weekend, when he had visited Teddy. He was always full of energy after those visits, so maybe he could tell them then.

For now, he had offered to babysit the marauders for the day – except between five and six, where Hermione had accepted to look after them. After he had brought them to the DADA classroom, he walked down to the dungeons and waited for his class to start.

Slughorn apparently was in a great mood, as he challenged the whole eighth year. “Today, we have a challenge! I have four potions for you, which you will create in teams of…” he quickly counted everyone and frowned. “two. Since we’re promoting house unity and you are the prime example, I will be building the teams which consist of different houses.”

If he was expecting some moans and eye-rolls, they weren’t coming. So he simply made the groups. “Weasley, Bones.” The Hufflepuff immediately stood next to Ron. “Granger, Goldstein.” Hermione didn’t seem all too happy, but that was probably just because even though Anthony was in Ravenclaw, he wasn’t very good and she had to double her efforts to win the competition. “Bulstrode, Macmillan.” Hufflepuff and Slytherin would lead to dead people. However, Harry had to admit that he started to like Millicent, so maybe these two would do quite well. “And that leaves Potter and Malfoy.” The two nodded and stepped towards a table.

“Mr. Potter” Slughorn came closer and brought a flying hat to a halt in front if Harry. “Please take a paper and read it aloud.”

Harry grabbed the first one he could find and opened it. It read _Laugh-inducing Potion_. He said what was written on it and Slughorn was pleased with himself. The hat floated to the next group and Harry leaned in to speak with Malfoy.

“Is that a bad one?”

The Slytherin smirked. “It’s rather easy, but if you mess up when you have to add the ingredients, it can end fatal.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Just what I needed today.”

“Don’t worry” Malfoy grinned. “I’ll keep an eye out, so we don’t die.”

While Harry shook his head, Millicent said what was written on her small paper. “Pompion Potion.”

The hat floated to Anthony, who looked as if he was about to pass out. Hermione was absolutely not okay with it. Harry watched this as he tried to remember what the potion would do that Millicent had chosen.

Anthony grabbed a piece of paper and read the writing. “Invisibility Potion.” It was funny to see how Hermione seemed to be genuinely interested, but Anthony looked like he was about to die.

The hat floated to Susan, who grabbed the last paper and unfolded it. “Truth Serum.”

Slughorn clapped his hands and turned to his whole class again. “All of these potions can be done in just one hour, if you work fast. So, stay focused and work efficiently in your teams. At the end, we will test these. Don’t worry, if I see a potion that isn’t ready to be tested, we won’t do so.”

Malfoy went to get the ingredients, while Harry prepared the cauldron, set the fire and got the knives. He opened the textbook, when the Slytherin came back.

“How do you know what to get, when I haven’t even opened the book?”

Malfoy grinned. “It’s the essentials. Here, chop those into small pieces, I’ll get the water.”

While Harry chopped the Wiggentree leaves, the Slytherin threw two Unicorn hairs inside the cauldron and grabbed four baneberries, which he squashed over the water, then threw them away. Harry added the Wiggentree after Malfoy told him to and the Slytherin stirred counter clockwise.

Harry then added a spoonful of Leech juice to a small container and swirled its content around, before he added cinnamon and daisies. When he looked over to Malfoy, he saw him carefully cutting Chinese Chomping Cabbage. He had a very small wrinkle right on top of his nose and it made him look a little handsome. Just a little. Harry frowned once again at his own thoughts, but was saved by the blond wizard.

“Concentrate, Potter” he said, still bent over the longish squares and not even looking up. “Or we might all die.” Harry rolled his eyes, but grinned as he ruined the delicate flowers with a mortar and added a pinch of dried rose oil powder.

He carefully and very slowly let the concoction drop into the potion and once he was finished, Malfoy added the Cabbage. He stirred clockwise for a few minutes and changed the direction ever so often after that.

“I think, we’re done. Now it just needs to rest for a while.”

Harry grinned. “That was quick.”

Malfoy laughed. “Well, I told you it’s fairly easy. Let’s just hope, it’s working.” The Slytherin looked at Harry again grinning. “Have you found out what a Pompion Potion does?” When Harry shook his head, he chuckled. “You’re going to like it. But I don’t want you to look it up. You should enjoy the show!”

Slughorn walked by and nodded approvingly at what they had done, before walking towards Hermione and Anthony, who were having some trouble. Anthony had just grabbed a strain of his hair, cut it off and threw it into the cauldron, which made Hermione yell out rather angrily over his action. Millicent and Ernest, on the other hand, were actually doing really well. They had a big pumpkin on their table and were using all kinds of parts, while Ron and Susan had a discussion about the amount of sage that was required in their potion.

“We might just win it” Harry said turning towards the Slytherin and took over stirring.

“Don’t jinx it, Potter.”

The lesson ended in a disaster. At least for Ron and Susan. As it turned out, both of them had been wrong about the amount of sage – it wasn’t supposed to be in that potion at all. Anthony could turn himself invisible, except for his hair and Ron ended up with a pumpkin as a head (he had volunteered for Millicent’s and Ernest’s potion to be tested on him), which made Harry laugh loudly and he shook his head.

Malfoy took a sip of their potion and started laughing, giggling and just couldn’t stop. It made Harry laugh as well; until Slughorn gave him the appropriate anti-laugh potion and the Slytherin wiped his tears from his face, still chuckling a little.

Harry grinned and turned to Slughorn who had already decided to announce the winners. “We have two potions very close to the top. However, the winning potion is made with such love to detail that I cannot ignore this: Potter and Malfoy, very well done!”

Malfoy held his hand high and Potter gave him a high five.

“Second place” Slughorn continued. “Bulstrode and Macmillan. Good job!”

They cleaned up and went to their next lesson, Harry feeling rather high on winning a _potions_ challenge. He would have never done this without Malfoy’s help. This high feeling went on until lunch.

Harry had grabbed the marauders – James and Remus from Ancient Runes and Sirius from McGonagall’s office and when he came to sit next to Ron and Hermione, the latter whispered quietly, that apparently Sirius had found out how he would die.

Harry felt guilt deep inside him, he had said more than necessary when they had asked him. Just because he wasn’t feeling good didn’t mean he could do something like that.

“Yeah, I may have told them” Harry answered quietly. Both, Hermione and Ron looked at him as if he had lost his mind. So he quickly explained. “Yesterday morning, they had found an article in my trunk about Sirius’ death and thought I killed him.”

Ron laughed out and shook his head, before turning to the three time travelers. “Why would you think, he’d kill his godfather?”

There was something else, which Hermione realized was wrong. "How can you see the article? Didn't McGonagall do some kind of spell that makes everything about the war and what's connected to the three of you invisible or something?"

Now it was time for the marauders to look guilty. Remus was the first to speak up. "Well, we saw the picture that didn't turn invisible and we might have asked someone to read the newspaper to us..."

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. This was just getting better and better... Ron looked at them startled, before he asked his original question again, while Hermione on the other hand turned her focus on Harry and he knew this instant, what she was going to say. So, he said it before she could. “Don’t worry. I’ll go through my trunk, look at everything and hide the stuff that they shouldn’t find. I will also put another lock on it, so no one’ll be able to get inside.”

When she nodded approvingly, they turned back to Ron and the marauders discussing Quidditch stunts. Harry wasn’t really sure how they went from killing to Quidditch in mere seconds, but Ron had always been rather good in changing subjects.

In the afternoon, Hermione went to a few classes alone – Harry wasn’t really sure which N.E.W.T. classes were on Friday afternoon, and McGonagall visited their table. She apparently already knew that Harry was going to visit Teddy this weekend and that Hermione would be gone to care for her parents. The headmistress explained that she would be looking after the marauders for the entire weekend, so Ron could either follow Hermione (which he was definitely going to do) or visit Teddy with Harry.

The two young men brought the time travelers to their lesson – History of Magic, everyone liked this one – and walked outside to have stroll next to the lake.

While they walked around an area hidden by trees, Ron turned to Harry with a questioning look. “I need to know: Why did you go inside the forbidden forest?”

Harry stopped walking. “I… I felt save. I needed a place to calm down and…”

“Not yesterday, Harry. I meant during the battle. Why did you go alone?”

Harry sighed. “You know why, Ron. I was a Horcrux, the only way to destroy it, would be…” he suddenly realized that he had just hinted towards his death. Ron stared at him in disbelieve.

“He killed you, didn’t he?”

The only thing he could do was nod. So, Harry nodded and looked to the ground. Ron on the other hand stood quiet as well, but looked over the lake, clearly thinking.

“So, what now?” his best friend asked after a while.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. I was actually only going to tell you I died after the weekend. That would give me some courage and maybe even an idea of what to do or say next.”

Ron grinned. “Okay, so I’ll pretend I’ve never heard it and give you an opportunity to tell Hermione and me together. Or everybody else you want to tell it.”

Harry shook his head. “Thank you and you’re an idiot.”

“Right back at you.”

They walked along the lake for another hour, before returning to the castle and getting the marauders for their astronomy classes. They sat in the Great Hall, then, talking with Neville, Dean, Seamus, Ginny and Luna, as well as some other seventh year, however, most of them just wanted to have some time with Harry to ask personal questions. When it was almost five o’clock, Harry turned away and paced towards the Hospital Wing.

He heard someone walking behind him and turned around to see Ron looking a little confused. “What are you doing, mate? I thought there weren’t any secrets between us anymore.”

Harry smiled at Ron and shook his head. “I have too many secrets to keep up with all of them.” He decided to should probably tell Ron that he was seeing a Mind Healer as well. Hermione already knew, so he should know as well. “I’m on my way to see my Mind Healer.”

Ron opened his eyes in surprise. “You actually got one?”

“Yeah. Hermione knows about it. So, I figured, maybe I should tell you as well.”

“Thank you very much” Ron rolled his eyes. “How long does she know?”

“I told her on Wednesday, so two days. I’m really sorry, but we were talking and you were already in bed.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Ron smiled at him. “Better go to your Mind Healer, so your brain can get healed.” Harry rolled his eyes, but walked away.

Malfoy wasn’t sitting at his usual spot. On the other hand, it was Friday, he had been in the Hospital Wing for quite some time and on Monday he also wasn’t sitting there. However, him sitting there had given Harry some sort of comfort. Knowing, he would wait there until he was done and help him, when he wasn’t feeling all too well.

On Monday, Harry couldn’t talk anymore after thirty minutes. The only thing he had wanted to do was to walk out and sit next to the Slytherin, while he read this damn book upside down. Only then did he realize that that bloody blond wizard was in the Hospital Wing and unlikely to read a book upside down. So, when he left the session, he went there and grabbed the Transformation book. He had turned it upside down and read slowly. It had given him some comfort, which was extremely weird.

When he walked in to Angelica’s room now, she raised her head and smiled at him. “Hello, Harry. How are you doing?”

“Better than yesterday, I’m really sorry for not showing up.”

Angelica shook her head. “Don’t worry. It worked out in the end, didn’t it? Please, sit down.”

While Harry sat down he made another decision. So when they sat across from each other, he started talking, before she could ask her usual questions.

“I think I want to talk about what happened to me during the war.”

He could see her surprised expression for just a quarter of a second, before she smiled at him encouragingly. So, before he could change his mind, he started at the very beginning. Well, not really. But he started with Dumbledore figuring out what Riddle was up to and that he was destroying his Horcruxes. He told her, how the late headmaster had given him all the tools necessary to find and destroy all of Voldemort’s soul fragments and he talked about their Horcrux hunt. How it nearly destroyed their sanity, but also how they became stronger together. And finally, he talked about the Battle of Hogwarts. About Snape’s death, how he had gotten the memories and then what he saw in them. He spoke about how he realized that he had to die and his way through the forest and then in the end, meeting Voldemort and dying only to still be alive in the end and finishing what he had started.

When he finally finished, it was way past seven o’clock and Harry realized that he had talked longer than he wanted to. But it felt good. Finally, everything was off his chest.

Obviously they didn’t have time to discuss everything he had said, but before Harry left, Angelica told him to think about what it did to him as a young man, being trusted with such a huge project.

So, as he left her room and turned the corner, he yawned and rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t even realized someone was sitting there until he almost fell over them.

“Really, Potter. I thought those glasses of yours were helping you see, not making you even more blind than you already are.”

Harry felt his heart warm. He came and waited... Though when he saw a familiar smirk, he rolled his eyes grinning. “Well, start sitting in places where people aren’t walking, otherwise you’re just waiting to be someone’s death trap.”

“How nice of you” Malfoy grinned and got to his feet. “So, how was it?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not saying anything.”

The Slytherin looked away, clearly unhappy with the answer he’d gotten, so Harry decided to make a deal with him. That way it was his own fault, when he wouldn’t get anything. “How about this: I tell you, when you tell me something from your therapy. I don’t need to be the only one sharing.”

Malfoy immediately went red and shook his head. “You know what? I think I’m fine. I don’t need to know everything.”

“Really?! What a surprise!” This comment made the Slytherin glare daggers into his eyes, but Harry couldn’t stop laughing. At least he was feeling even better than this morning.


	31. How to enjoy yourself big-Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry visits Teddy.

Malfoy apparently wasn’t up to discuss anything that happened in his therapy session, so Harry wasn’t going to share anything else. Luckily, the Slytherin did give him another dose of Dreamless Sleep, so he could go visit Teddy tomorrow well rested and, hopefully, in a good mood.

It was seven in the morning when Harry got up, dressed and quietly summoned Kreacher. He had packed everything he could think of in his trunk and asked the house elf to put it in Andromeda’s living room, so he could look through everything when he’d get there. He found himself soon after walking down to the sleeping town and the apparition point, where he finally disappeared.

Andromeda’s home was in the middle of nowhere. There was a small lake behind the house, a forest on its right and a big piece of farmland to the left. The house on its own wasn’t very big, but considering it only had to house one and a half person (Teddy was counting as half a person), it was good enough.

Harry knocked, but entered anyway, when nobody answered. In the living room to his left, he could see his trunk next to some of Teddy’s toys. However, before he could enter said room, a sound of glass hitting the floor brought Harry to the kitchen on his right.

“Andromeda?” he asked, but was faced with a toddler, licking something of the floor. “Hi Teddy!” Harry grinned and lifted his godson up from the floor. He was apparently eating some kind of chocolate sauce. The moment the small child recognized Harry, he smiled broadly and giggled.

“I don’t think you should be eating this, buddy” Harry said and vanished the mess on the floor. “How about Banana?”

“Ba-na-na-na-na-na” Teddy answered, still giggling.

Harry chuckled and grabbed a Banana. “If your first word is going to be _Banana_ , I don’t think Andromeda’s going to forgive me for this.”

Teddy clang to him, so instead of putting him on the clean floor, he was holding the small child at his waist while mashing the food with a fork. “Here you go Teddy, Breakfast’s ready.”

Teddy clumsily clapped his hands and pushed them into the food in front of him. “No, no, Teddy, let me help.”

Harry grinned and fed his godson, before letting him crawl around on the floor again. It was a little weird for Andromeda not being down here, especially since Teddy was already up and running. Well... sort of running. The child was back in the living room, grabbing his favorite teddy bear and lay on his stomach.

Smiling, Harry sat next to his godson and proceeded to play with him for a while. Maybe Andromeda needed some time alone and since she knew Harry was coming over, maybe she wanted to sleep in. Teddy was babbling happy and giggled every time Harry hid a toy behind his back and showed it to him again.

Once it was ten o’clock, Harry decided to go and look for Teddy’s grandmother. He found her still asleep in her room and quietly went back down the stairs, where Teddy sat in front of the very first step, looking at him with puppy eyes.

“What’s going on, Ted?”

“Ba-ba-ba” he held out a plushy fire truck, Harry had been hiding last behind his back and smiled again, when Harry took it and put it behind his back. He then showed the toddler his empty hands and laughed quietly over his surprised expression.

When he brought the fire truck back, Teddy giggled and grabbed it. Harry chuckled softly. He loved his bonding time with his godson. He was the sweetest and happiest person Harry had ever met. Everything was funny to him and he couldn’t get enough play time. And Harry loved him for it.

Harry got up later to cook something to eat. Teddy wouldn’t let him leave, so he lifted him up and kept him on his waist. “You want to learn how to cook already, little man?”

Teddy giggled and grabbed Harry’s shirt, which made the young man smile. “Alright. What do you want me to show you?” He opened a cook book and flicked through it. “How about stuffed potatoes?” He wasn’t really up for something like that, so he kept looking. “Pesto chicken, garlic salmon and asparagus, stuffed bell peppers…” Harry closed the book again, not interested in anything inside. “How about bowties and broccoli? Do you know broccoli?”

“Ba-ba-da” Teddy answered and giggled, which in turn made Harry grin as well.

“I don’t think you know broccoli, but if you want you can try. Do you like that?”

“Ba!” the toddler called and had a wide grin spread over his face.

“Alrighty, Mr. Let me show you how to cook your very first meal” Harry said and grabbed a pot. Even though he had hated cooking when he had lived with the Dursley’s, Harry had realized in the few days he had spent alone at Grimmauld Place, that it had a very relaxing feeling to it. If you weren’t responsible for everyone getting something to eat, he could mess up something and learn from it, without being beaten up.

Once Harry had finished cooking, Andromeda appeared in the kitchen. She looked rather sick and pale.

“Hello Harry, how are you doing?” she asked and sat down at the kitchen table. He have her something to eat and assessed her skeptical.

“I’m okay” he answered. “You don’t look so good. How are you feeling?”

Harry gave Teddy the smallest piece of broccoli he could find. His godson peered at it intently and touched it carefully. He giggled, probably at the texture and looked at Harry again.

“Ba-ba-na-na” he said.

The young man fed the toddler the broccoli and was not really surprised that he let it fall out of his mouth. “Da!” he called out.

“Banana?” Harry asked, while getting up and grabbing a banana and Teddy grinned at him.

Andromeda had followed their discussion with a faint smile on her face. “I’m really happy to see you and Edward together. It would have made Nymphadora and Remus happy to know that you’re bonding with their son.”

“Andromeda, how are you doing?” he repeated his question, while Teddy grabbed his hands to help him feed himself.

“Not really fantastic” she answered. “But that’s okay. There are good and bad days.”

Harry looked at her carefully. “How long has it been like that?”

“Two days. But don’t worry about me. It’ll go away, eventually.” She smiled at him and Teddy grinned back, accidentally throwing his plate from the table. Harry caught it quickly without having to draw his wand and levitated it back on the table.

Teddy squealed excitedly and threw the plate from the table again. “No…” Harry laughed and caught it again, rather quickly. He chuckled and levitated it to the middle of the table, where his godson couldn’t touch it.

At the disappointed look, Harry grinned and grabbed him to go to the living room and play again. “I’ll take care of him over the weekend. You just have to get better.”

Andromeda thanked him and once she had eaten, she went back to bed. Harry sat in the living room, placing Teddy, who out of nowhere had become extremely tired, into his crib. He then started to rummage through his stuff and assessing whether or not he should hide it or if it was okay for the marauders to find.

In his trunk, he found several old pictures he had taken from newspapers, just because he didn’t have a lot of pictures from his past. He quickly placed them on the floor and started rummaging through his belongings again. There was a picture book and Harry’s picture of his parents. He placed them next to the newspaper clippings. Suddenly, he found a huge pile of newspapers about him. Frowning, he took them out of his trunk and looked through them. A few of them – especially those about his 4th year adventures – were incredibly well read. Then he found the article, where he was described to the readers of the Daily Prophet for the Triwizard Tournament and his face was blacked out. He could read in clear words _I hate you_. He didn’t even have to ponder over who wrote it as he could tell the handwriting belonged to Ron. He probably hid the newspapers in Harry’s trunk… for whatever reason.

There was no more additional information to be found and so he hid all the newspapers and pictured in his Invisibility Cloak and in turn hid this in his trunk.

Teddy stirred and was about to cry, when Harry leaned over the crib. “Da-da” his eyes were teary and Harry could just about smell why. He quickly changed the dirty diaper with magic. He lifted the toddler up and sat down at the kitchen table. Teddy sat on his lap, playing with an oversized plush Snitch, while Harry tried to write his potions essay about any of the four potions in their challenge a day ago. He soon had to stop as Teddy apparently didn’t want to play alone.

He had started fuzzing and it seemed as if he didn’t like it any more. Harry knew immediately how he could calm his godson down. “Do you want to see something amazing, Ted?” he asked and silently cast a Patronus. As soon as Teddy saw it, he was mesmerized. It seemed to calm him down extremely.

After a few minutes, wherein Harry let the stag trot around them, the toddler fell asleep again. Harry put him back into his crib, when just then an owl pecked at the window.

He didn’t recognize it, but opened the window anyway; maybe it was something important for Andromeda. The letter was addressed to him and written in a beautiful cursive. A handwriting, which he could just as easily identify as the last one: Malfoy.

Interested, he opened the letter and found a somewhat small message in his beautiful cursive.

> _Potter, guess where I found this poor boy! He was stuck under your blankets and trying to get out. I’m pretty sure we both know who put it there – Zabini. So I guess he actually went and bought himself a new owl to throw it into your bed and make it smell like bird shit. I’m sure you can keep it. Zabini basically gave you a new owl. It sort of reminds me of you… Also, this is just a warning: That idiot might try all kind of nonsense when you’re back. He already transformed my bed into jelly. Thank god for Millicent, otherwise, I couldn’t have gotten free. He definitely did something to Weasley’s bed, I just don’t know what. Can’t wait for this weekend to be over. DM_

Harry grinned. Zabini was just a huge pain, Malfoy on the other hand seemed to have a few allies. Especially the eighth year stood behind Draco, which Harry valued very much and he was sure the Slytherin did as well.

He looked up from the letter and assessed his new owl. He definitely was smaller than the usual owls, however, not as small as Ron’s owl. Though, with its brown and light black feathers it looked like a dirty ball. Funnily enough the feathers on its head looked almost untamable. Maybe this was what reminded Malfoy of him.

“So, I guess you need a name?” Harry asked. The owl only hooted softly.

Harry thought for a while. His first instinct was to let Teddy choose a name, but right now it might end up being called Dabana. He also couldn’t really name them after one of the marauders. The only thing left was to come up with a name by himself.

“What do you think about _Aiden_?” he asked. The owl looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “Yeah, no.”

Maybe there was something that reminded him of magic. Some kind of name that whenever he said it, would make him see the magic… He had once read an article about the meanings of different names. There were all kinds of things associated with a name. However, all of those didn’t seem to be what he wanted for an owl.

“I think I know it!” Harry grinned broadly. “I’ll call you Abracadabra, as an honor for my Muggle heritage – my mother’s side – but also as a bad inside joke. For short, I’ll call you Abra. How’s that?”

The owl hooted approvingly. It looked like the animal was just as sick in his mind as Harry was…

He took a parchment, a quill and ink out of his trunk and started writing a reply.

> _Malfoy, if you want to get back at him, Ron keeps EXTREME-SECURITY in his trunk. You can either lock Zabini in or out of his bed (or any place you wish). Put the small round thing under his bed (or under a rug, etc.) and press the red button on the accompanying device. A shield charm should activate and can’t be destroyed. Not even with the strongest magic – Ginny once tried it with Reducto. Oh and by the way, thank you for giving me an owl which isn’t yours, so very kind of you! I already decided to keep him – his name is Abra – keep him save for me, please. HP_

With this, he sent the owl away and had just finished putting everything away, when Teddy woke up and demanded something to eat.


	32. Just in Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's back on Sunday evening and Malfoy might have taken action against Zabini.

When the weekend ended, Andromeda looked better than before and Harry felt just about okay to let her and Teddy alone. His godson had given him an infinite amount of strength and he had enjoyed his time with Teddy.

So, when he apparated to Hogsmeade, he was rather surprised to be faced with Malfoy, as he almost fell over the other man sitting right at the edge of the apparition point.

“Hey” Harry greeted him, while the Slytherin simply shook his head.

“Potter. Where have you been?” he asked with his signature sneer back in his voice. Harry raised his eyebrows without saying anything. What happened? He hadn’t reversed back to the snob he’d been before the war now, had he?

Harry’s questions had been answered rather quickly, when Malfoy sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Sorry, Potter. Zabini’s trying to make me hate my life and the best way to pretend his remarks aren’t influencing me is by sneering and being overly sarcastic.” He rolled his eyes.

Harry smiled. “Well, for your information: Zabini’s wrong.”

Malfoy laughed and shook his head. His facial features had converted back to a softer and handsomer version of himself. “You don’t even know what he said or did! How can you say he’s wrong?!”

“That’s ‘cause I know he won’t change over night. So, whatever he told you is aiming to hurt you. As your former friend, he knows how to hurt you and that’s what he’s doing.”

The Slytherin stared at him in an expression between surprise and annoyance and frowned. “I think I preferred it, when you didn’t analyze every situation and also when we weren’t friends.”

Harry smirked slightly. “I somehow find this hard to believe, Malfoy.”

They made their way up to the castle, when he asked his former nemesis, why he had been sitting so close by the apparition point and why he wasn’t inside Hogwarts.

“I um…” Malfoy blushed slightly. Harry raised his eyebrows. “I may have locked Zabini inside the bubble thing from Weasley’s.”

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. “You did what?” The Slytherin opened his mouth, but Harry continued anyway, because he had in fact heard what the other man sad. “When did you do that?!”

“This morning.”

Harry started laughing heavily and had to bend over, his stomach hurt so much. Malfoy bit his lower lip and looked up to the castle. Harry wasn’t sure if he felt guilty or if he was trying to suppress a grin.

“Hell, yes, Malfoy! Amazing! We need to see if the professors already freed him! Come on!” He grabbed the Slytherin and dragged him to their dormitory.

In front of their room was a huge amount of students as well as some professors, who had just closed the door behind them. Harry let go of Malfoy and walked closer to the headmistress.

“Professor McGonagall, what’s going on?” he asked and was actually surprised at the level of innocence in his voice.

“Some sort of magical accident happened” she shooed the interested students away and opened the door for Harry to look inside. “I haven’t seen this happen to adults ever, only magical children can do this – by accident naturally.” The picture inside was making it hard for Harry to keep a straight face. Zabini was sitting on his bed, his head so red it looked like he was about to explode. Around him was a white, almost see-through ball of energy. Four professors were trying to break through and inside the bubble was a house elf, leaving food.

“Can’t the elf apparate him out of there? House elves can do all kinds of stuff” Harry suggested, when the headmistress closed the door again. He looked at Malfoy and felt the smallest of grins on his lips. The other man however, looked rather guilty. At least McGonagall was concentrating on him and not on the Slytherin.

“Sadly, no. Somehow they’re able to apparate inside but can’t take anyone with them. I have no idea how this happened.”

Harry was sure that the headmistress knew exactly who did this, as the only people who had access to this dormitory were eighth year students and the only other student present in this dorm was Malfoy. However, apparently she had decided to leave Zabini in there for a while. Or maybe she really couldn’t figure it out.

“There has also been another issue: Apparently his wand doesn’t produce any magic anymore.”

Harry was genuinely surprised at this statement, before he remembered why it didn’t work anymore. McGonagall eyed Harry and Malfoy closely.

“Professor, if his wand isn’t working anymore, why are you looking at us?” Harry asked as innocently as he could. He did realize that it had worked much better when he was faced with the extreme-security around Zabini.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “Mr. Zabini does remember that you had disarmed him in the dormitory a few days or weeks back. And he mentioned that his wand hadn’t been working properly ever since.”

 _Or at all_ , Harry added in his mind, but shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, I did disarm him, because he was about to attack Malfoy, but if you ask him, he found his wand exactly where it had landed.”

Harry was surprised that theoretically he had said the truth. He didn’t mention that he had changed them and yes, Zabini found his fake wand about where his real wand had landed.

McGonagall assessed him for a while, before turning back to the door. Just then, Flitwick and Slughorn walked out and demanded the headmistress back inside.

“Please make sure, no one’ll enter here, until we’re finished with this” she said towards Harry. He nodded and the door closed behind her.

Harry turned to a grinning Dean who leaned at the wall grinning broadly. “How long have they been trying to get him out of there?”

“Don’t know. They started before lunch. It’s so entertaining!” he said and grinned. “I didn’t know about the wand, though. Whoever did that – both things actually – was a genius!”

Harry chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. After Harry promised to call them, when something would happen, the crowd dissolved. The only people left were Malfoy and the marauders who came closer when no one was around.

James and Sirius had a sparkle in their eyes and Harry was sure that they’d thoroughly enjoyed whatever happened to Zabini.

“You guys did this, didn’t you?” James asked grinning from one ear to another. Harry rolled his eyes, but Malfoy narrowed his.

“Why would you want to know?”

Harry realized quickly that the Slytherin didn’t trust them. But then again, why should he? They were apparently not around for the war to happen, but came back as soon as it was safe again and everyone in school wasn’t allowed to talk to them about the past. Not really a great way to insure trust.

“Don’t worry, Malfoy. They’re fine. They did talk to you about pranks they did on their own, right?” Harry tried to defuse the situation. It worked ever so slightly, which was fine.

“True” he stayed quit or a while, before turning to Harry. “How do I resolve whatever happened to Zabini?”

“Do you still have the red button?” Malfoy nodded. Harry smiled. “Well, if you press it again, the bubble will disappear. If I were you, I’d watch or listen when a professor shoots another spell at it and make it vanish then. They’ll think it was them not us.”

The Slytherin grinned. “It is almost dinner time and I do want the room back after that, so I think we should solve this mystery now rather than later.”

Harry nodded and quietly opened the door. He peeked inside and held his hand up as a sign to not press the button. When Flitwick cast _Expulso_ , which Harry thought was an odd choice, he signaled to Malfoy to press it. Just then, once the spell hit the bubble, it was gone. It looked as if the spell helped it.

“Well done” Harry whispered to the Slytherin, while he closed the door silently and the other man hid the button once again. Harry could see James and Sirius about to start laughing hard, Remus remaining in the background, not really happy with how things turned out. Or at least it looked that way.

They could hear loud complaints definitely coming from Zabini and McGonagall’s calming voice, before the door opened loudly, while the entirety of the eighth year was back on the stairs.

“It’s been resolved” the headmistress announced. The four professors, which consisted of Flitwick, Slughorn, Sprout (for whatever reason she was here…) and the DADA professor Bellchant, left the room shortly after and walked up towards the Common Room. Right then, a furious Zabini dashed out into the staircase and came right after Malfoy, when he saw him standing there. Harry immediately stood in front of him, seperating the two Slytherins.

“Is this how you treat your friends, Malfoy?! Locking them into a fucking airtight bubble, letting them stay there for a day?! I swear to everything that’s holy that I will take you down!”

“Mr. Zabini” McGonagall’s voice roared through the hallway. Zabini stopped at once, even though he looked just as angry as he had inside of that bubble. “We have no reason to believe that Mr. Malfoy had anything to do with this.”

“He hates me!” Zabini said glaring at the other Slytherin, who simply rolled his eyes. Harry had to admit that he knew why. If anything it was Zabini who started this rivalry between them. Or the Ministry who didn’t let him go to Hogwarts.

Whatever the headmistress tried to say, Zabini apparently didn’t want to hear or believe it. In the end, McGonagall said that if she heard that Malfoy was attacked, Zabini would end up with detention every night and every weekend for at least a month.

Harry was surprised by the severity of her punishment, but maybe this was the only way to keep him from attacking his former best friend.

“Potter, I’ve sent for an elf to clean your bed, as for Malfoy’s and Weasley’s bed, I have found these” McGonagall showed small devices sold by George (and Fred) that definitely could turn a bed into jelly, which happened to the Slytherin. “I will keep them, as all products from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes’ are considered problematic.”

After dinner, Hermione and Ron rolled in and sat down by the fire, where the eighth year had another unplanned secret meeting. Harry had asked for hot chocolate, which everyone enjoyed quite a lot. He was sitting on the couch, next to Neville and Malfoy, who were both deep in discussion about the immortality spell. Apparently, Sprout had accepted to have a test run with some of the flowers Neville had planted. Millicent and Lily shared an arm chair, playing a card game, Harry had never seen before, with Susan and Fay who were occupying the arm chair next to the other. Seamus and Dean sat on the floor in front of the fire and had a few pamphlets in front of them about all kinds of jobs and opportunities. Justin and Ernest lay on the floor discussing an essay or a book for Muggle Studies, while some students, who were better at that subject or who grew up around Muggles, helped them along. The rest sat around the room quietly enjoying the familiarity of the room and the people inside.

When Hermione and Ron entered and sat on a cushion on the floor next to Harry, Millicent looked up from her game and asked Hermione how her parents were doing. Harry was suddenly moved by all this love and respect people had for each other. Here in their Common Room, they weren’t representing different houses. They were just people who had suffered through the same trauma and who could help each other.

However, there was one exception. Everybody knew it and Harry was sure they hated it just as much as he did. Everyone in eighth year had accepted Malfoy’s apologies and they had given him a second change, the blond wizard clearly hadn’t missed to deliever on it. In the end, he won respect from everyone. Except Zabini.

Harry told Ron and Hermione what happened this evening and Ron, who rightfully so suspected it was his extreme-security, laughed his ass off. Hermione was a little careful and asked if Zabini was okay afterwards, but when the mentioned Slytherin walked in, glared at everyone and went back to his… their room, she shrugged her shoulders.

“I wish I could have been here!” Ron laughed and shook his head. Harry simply grinned. It had been amazing.

As the night went on, most people went to bed and in the end, the only ones left were Hermione, Neville, Harry and Malfoy. Hermione was planning a meeting with the Prefects and Neville helped her with whatever was going on there.

While Hermione and Neville retired to a table at the other end of the room, Harry turned to Malfoy. There was something on his mind and he needed some help with it.

“Say, Malfoy, I wonder if I… if I could get your opinion on something.”

The Slytherin looked at him curiously. “Sure thing, Potter. Whatever you need.”

“Well, I was wondering… ” Harry started, but he couldn’t figure out how to say it. “No, I decided to tell Hermione and Ron that… that I died in the forest. But I… I…” He sighed, finally taking a deep breath and saying what he’d wanted to say. “I can’t do this alone.”

“You do have therapy tomorrow, Potter” Malfoy smiled at him encouragingly. “So, if I were you, I’d make them accompany me to Angelica and tell them there.”

Harry rubbed his forehead. This wasn’t really going the way he’d wanted it to go. “Yes, well… but I can’t do this alone.”

“That’s why you’re with Angelica, dummy. She’ll be able to help you through it and also help your friends understand. I’m sure she’ll do amazing.”

 _I need you to help me through it._ Harry closed his eyes. What was going on? He didn’t need Malfoy, Angelica was probably a better choice, since she was actually his Mind Healer. Why was this so awkward, why did he want Malfoy to help him? This didn’t make any sense.

“You’re right. I think I like the idea” Harry said instead. What was he supposed to say? That he hated the idea – it was a good idea after all, just not the one he had wanted.

As if the Slytherin next to him had realized something was wrong, he sat up and looked him straight in the eyes. “What’s wrong, Potter?”

Harry shot up, before he could think and shrugged his shoulders. “What? Nothing. I’m just tired. Good night, Malfoy.”

“Night.”

He turned around and walked down the stairs to their dormitory, before the Slytherin could ask any more questions.


	33. Time is a great Healer, but you need to start talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Monday arrives, Harry can't really think about having to talk about his death with Ron and Hermione. Maybe Malfoy can help him.

Monday had been terrifying. Not because Harry hadn’t finished his potions essay and they should have already written it, but because he had convinced Ron and Hermione to visit Angelica with him. He had visited her office in the morning, before she had her first patient and asked her if she was okay with what he wanted to do. Naturally, she had said yes. So now he just needed to wait for five periods. The marauders were going to the headmistress, reading up on some more information about Time Turners until dinner, so everything was cared for. Except for Harry’s nerves.

When lunch started, Hermione and Ron had decided to get the marauders, so Harry sat by himself at the Gryffindor table. He could feel and even see his hands shaking. His mind was racing and he couldn’t concentrate on anything.

He was snapped out of his nervous state by someone calling his name repeatedly and a loud snap directly next to his ears. Malfoy, sitting next to him, looked a little concerned as well as amused.

“Potter” he started, when he realized that Harry could hear him now. “What’s haunting you?”

Harry rubbed his temples and sighed. The food on his plate looked disgusting and he really didn’t want to eat anything. So, he pushed everything away and closed his eyes. Only when Malfoy called his name again, this time seriously concerned, he looked at him again.

“Sorry, Malfoy” he said apologetically. “I’m going to tell Ron and Hermione today that I died. I just… can’t calm down.” That was all. At least for now. Maybe there were other fears around, but for now this was all that was _haunting_ him, as the Slytherin had said it so easily.

To be honest, Harry had told him yesterday night that he was going to talk about that, so he should have known already. Maybe he had just forgotten.

Malfoy frowned. “Did you tell Angelica that you died?” Harry couldn’t answer, so he simply nodded. The Slytherin narrowed his eyes in thought. “In that case you have already talked to two people about it. Shouldn’t be too hard now, should it?”

Harry bit his lips and was just about to tear his nails into his arms, when Malfoy simply pushed his hand away and looked at him sternly. “We also need to work on this; you can’t just keep hurting yourself every time you get uncomfortable or feel the need to finally feel something again, even if it’s pain.”

“Sounds like you’re talking from experience.”

Malfoy nodded so quickly and little, that Harry almost didn’t catch it. “Not that that’s surprising, Potter. Now, about your therapy: Why don’t you practice what you want to say?”

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah? Where and when? I have to talk to them tonight!”

“Right here, right now. Your friends aren’t here, so we can as well just use the time” Malfoy suggested and looked at Harry, clearly waiting for him to start talking about his trauma.

“I… I don’t think so” Harry shook his head. “I can’t just do it like that!”

The Slytherin looked at him quite demanding and Harry sighed quietly, letting him win and thought about how he could say it.

“Okay” Harry scratched his forehead, deep in thought. “How about his: I will ask them if they remember how I walked off into the forest and… and ask them how it looked, when Hagrid carried me out. That way they have to answer _dead_. That’s a good segue to the actual topic?”

When Harry looked over to Malfoy, he saw him nodding thoughtfully and smiled carefully. “And how did you die?”

Unable to answer, he looked at the wooden table, traced a few lines and hoped the Slytherin would drop his question. Of course he didn’t. Why should he? He simply waited and after a short while, decided to repeat his question.

“I… Voldemort cast the Killing Curse. Which was probably part of all his wet dreams or so” Harry tried to make a joke, to which Malfoy shook his head disapprovingly.

“What did you feel?”

He couldn’t take it anymore. Too many emotions were fighting in him to gain the upper hand. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Please stop, Malfoy. I… I can’t... I…”

Malfoy’s hand was on his arm, right there where he would normally try and hurt himself. It steadied his thoughts and calmed him down. However, what helped him gain back control over all his different emotions, was the other man’s voice – calm and soothing. Whatever he was saying, he kept repeating it, like a mantra. “Tout va s’arranger. Ne t’inquiète pas. Tu peux certainement le faire. Je crois fermement en toi, mon calinours.”

Harry frowned as he looked back up at Malfoy. Before he could ask any questions, however, Ron and Hermione sprinted into the Great Hall. The marauders close behind. While Harry’s best friends sat down next to them, the three time travellers sat on the other side of the table. Malfoy only retracted his hand from Harry’s arm, when James looked at the Slytherin frowning.

If his therapy session or the talk about his death was going to be anything like the discussion over lunch, he was in for quite the ride. Angelica was there to help him, yes, but even the few questions Malfoy had asked were too much. How would he react, if Hermione would freak out about him dying? What if Ron had questions about... about Fred’s death. How dying felt...? He couldn’t answer them. He didn’t want to answer them.

The closer it came to five o’clock, the more Harry was hiding away. He was not ready, not even a little bit. So, it was no surprise that he was hiding in his bed under the blankets, when it was a quarter to five. The only thing keeping him company were his thoughts, rushing through his brains. The pictures of death and destructions and the constant trembling and shaking of all of his limbs. Great combination...

Suddenly, he felt the blankets pulled away and someone sitting next to him on his bed. He kept his eyes closed and focused on not trembling too much.

“Potter, whatever you’re doing isn’t healthy, you know that, don’t you?” So apparently Malfoy had found him.

“Go away.”

It was quiet for a little while. Out of the blue, Harry felt a hand on his back. He shuddered at its sudden contact.

“You know I can’t do that” Malfoy said quietly. He started to gently rub over Harry’s tense back. “If you want, I can help you through it. You know, be there with you when you tell Granger and Weasley.”

Harry finally raised his head and looked over his shoulder to the Slytherin. “Why would you do that?”

The other man shrugged his shoulders, before responding. “You look like you could need all the help you can get and I already know a little of what happened to you. Of course I will only do it if you...”

“Yes!” Harry interrupted him immediately. “Please help me!” He was aware that he sounded helpless and scared and generally not like he usually would.

Malfoy simply nodded and motioned him to get up, so they could get his friends and see Angelica. Hermione and Ron were waiting in the Common Room, when the two men found them. Without a word, Harry led them all to Angelica.

His Mind Healer was very forth coming. She greeted them all very kindly – she already knew all the names from Harry’s tales. When Malfoy entered the room, she looked a little surprised, but since Harry didn’t throw him out, she seemingly accepted his presence. They sat down – Harry on the sofa next to the Slytherin, Ron and Hermione on the two armchairs and Angelica behind her desk.

She explained that this session was for Harry to tell them something, she was only here to help him along, if he would be stuck on something. Her questioning glance reached Malfoy, but Harry wasn’t going to let him explain, why he accompanied him. Hermione and Ron had looked the same, but said nothing.

So, Harry decided to just jump in. He started exactly how he wanted to start, how he had discussed it with Dra... Malfoy. Ron already knew what was going on, so he said exactly what Harry wanted them to say.

Hermione suddenly sat a little straighter. “Hold on! You... You died? You actually died?”

Harry nodded and bit his lip. Hermione was deep in thought, Ron had something on his mind and Harry knew exactly what it was. He was going to ask about Fred, he could basically feel it in the air.

“Harry, if... if you really died... did it hurt? Like, do you think that...” Ron stopped talking and Harry could see him blinking really fast so the tears wouldn’t fall.

Did it hurt? Harry closed his eyes. He wanted to hurt himself, he needed release, but Malfoy had his hand on his arm. He had apparently already seen this coming. _Quicker than falling asleep_. Harry’s breathing almost stopped. He wanted to say it. Give Ron the idea he had of death just before dying. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t repeat the words his godfather had told him in the forest.

He knew the longer he waited, the more it looked like it would hurt and he was trying to conceal this fact, so he simply shook his head. “You can’t feel a thing” he said, his voice a little hoarse.

Ron nodded. Hermione held Ron comforting and smiled at Harry. “How did you come back?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I was given a choice, when I was dead. First, I got to hear the whole story of my death and why it was important.” He could feel Malfoy’s gaze on him. He couldn’t feel what it meant, but it helped him anyway. “Then I was told that if I wanted to travel to the place for the dead, I could simply go there. But, if I wanted to finish the war, I could just as well go back. And that’s what I did.”

“Why did you come back?” Ron asked and frowned. “Not that... not that I’m not happy to have you back and all, but I mean you have lost so much and then you were presented with the easy way out. Why not take it?”

“When did I ever take the easy way out?” Harry smiled weakly. “I think I came back because I wasn’t finished. Yes, we...” realizing that Malfoy didn’t know what they did – and also unwilling to let him hear this, he decided to rephrase it. “We had prepared Voldemort’s death quite well, but he wasn’t dead. Just think how much boost he would have gotten if _The Boy Who Lived_ was dead. For some people I was their symbol of hope. I can’t just die like that.”

Ron and Hermione nodded. The hand on his arm squeezed slightly and Harry smiled softly. He felt incredibly happy to have people like the one’s he had in this room right now around him. 

The rest of the remaining hour, they spent talking about what had them terrified or what haunted them. Once only ten minutes were left, Angelica sent everyone except Harry outside and closed the door again.

“I am proud of you, Harry. That takes a lot of courage what you just did” she praised him and smiled warmly. “Have you decided if you’d like to continue with our sessions?”

Harry nodded. “I think I want to. It’s really helping me!”

Angelica smiled again and opened the door for him as well. When he left, Hermione and Ron stood on the other side of the door at the wall. Harry walked closer and was immediately pulled into a hug by Hermione.

“Thank you for telling us, Harry! You’re amazing, you know that, right?”

Harry chuckled. “Thank you ‘Mione. I tend to forget sometimes.”

“We’ll keep reminding you” Ron grinned and threw an arm around his shoulders when they walked down the corridors.

Hermione suddenly seemed to realize something and she looked to the floor a little sad. “I’m sorry Harry, but I think, Malfoy’s not really on your side... As soon as we were out here, he bolted away. I think it might have been too much...”

Harry simply shook his head. It wasn’t what Hermione suspected. He knew that Malfoy had taken nothing with him to sit on the floor with his books turned upside down, so if he wanted to keep their tradition alive, he had to get a book as quickly as possible.

“Don’t judge people just like that, Hermione”, he smiled, as he walked around the corner and saw Malfoy sitting on a window sill with a book in his hands.

Hermione was taken aback and Ron stared at the Slytherin in surprise. He let go of Harry, who kept walking. Once he stood in front of the blond wizard, he raised his eyebrows in a playful manner. “Really, Malfoy?”

The Slytherin looked up, playfully innocent as well and shrugged his shoulders. “What on earth could you mean? I’m just sitting here, minding my own business...”

“Where did you hide the book?” Harry interrupted with a wide grin spread across his face.

Malfoy closed his book slowly and almost let a grin slip through. Harry caught the slightest of twitches, before he simply jumped off the window sill. “Seriously, Potter. You’re getting quite delusional. What book?” With the last question, he showed both his empty hands, shrugged and turned around and started walking away, while Harry felt probably like Teddy felt every time he had hidden another of his toys behind his back.

“What...? But how did you...?” Harry started the sentences, shook his head and when Malfoy turned around grinningly and winked at him.

Just then, Ron stepped next to Harry and shook his head. “You know... Something weird is going on here.”

“What?” Harry turned to face Ron and frowned.

“He’s so nice! He’s always around you! I think he’s obsessed with you!”

Harry laughed loudly. “Ron, you’re nice to me. We’re pretty much always around each other... Are you sure you’re not obsessed with me?”

Ron’s face was red in a matter of seconds, while he murmured something under his breath and Hermione threw her arm around Harry’s shoulders. “Well, I have no problems with saying it: I am obsessed with you, my dear friend!”

“And I am obsessed with you too, Hermione!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I just really love the idea of Draco speaking fluent French, but since some of you might not know this beautiful language, here's the translation (I'll keep it up for everytime he'll speak French):
> 
> Tout va s’arranger. = Everything's going to be okay.  
> Ne t’inquiète pas. = Don't be scared.  
> Tu peux certainement le faire. = You can do this.  
> Je crois fermement en toi, mon calinours. = I believe in you, my "teddy bear".
> 
> I hope you liked the chapter :)


	34. Time for some new Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry finds the problem with the Time Turner and later meets the marauders in a corridor.

He found it! Finally! It had only taken him the better part of Tuesday and missing his potions classes today to read through his ‘Useful Knowledge about Time’ copy and being stuck on the drawing of a Time Turner until he realized where the problem was.

Neville had told Harry that the most important device was the stabilizer. However, something he probably had missed, because it was the smallest of details was the little magical link between the clock hand and the golden circles. Apparently, the one who invented the Time Turners wanted to keep the users from abusing the power of time and blocked all kinds of different scenarios with some complicated magical spells.

If the spells were working properly, the Time Turner should be glowing in a soft white light in an unused state. It also shouldn’t be able to work without the magic surrounding it. So, how his father and friends made it through time was a complete mystery to him.

The only thing was that the longer he thought about it the clearer it was that his father and his godfather had actually planned to travel into the future. Maybe to see what would happen to them there or maybe they were dared. Whatever it was, they clearly hadn’t thought it through.

Harry took the book and made his way through the quiet castle up to the headmistress’ office. Once he reached it, the door opened and Slughorn walked out. Harry immediately felt caught. He had decided to not visit Slughorn’s classes, now he basically walked into his professor several minutes after said class had ended.

“Oh, Harry, dear boy, how are you feeling? I missed you this morning” Slughorn greeted him and smiled. “Your essay’s been missing as well, you do have it finished, right?”

Harry nodded quickly. “Yes, sir. I have been working on it this morning. You’ll find it on your desk by tonight.”

His potions professor seemed content with his answer and said goodbye before vanishing down the stairs. Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. Theoretically he could have told him that he was working on something for the marauders, so they could eventually go home. Slughorn knew the truth so that wouldn’t have been problematic, but somehow Harry was sure he would have seen this as a cheap excuse for not visiting his classes. So... this meant he needed to write his essay – and fast.

Instead of running back to his dorm and starting his essay anew, he knocked on McGonagall’s door and was greeted by the headmistress. Before she could say anything, he presented her with the book he had been reading and started on his thesis.

“The only reason as to why that magical link doesn’t exist anymore is because I think they somehow broke it, when they decided to travel to the future.”

McGonagall frowned and looked at him. “You just said ‘they decided to travel to the future’. Are you sure it wasn’t an accident? Something was indeed broken before.”

Harry nodded. “I do believe that they had the intention to travel into the future. I don’t know how far. They did look surprised to find out that they had gone twenty five years into the future.”

McGonagall nodded thoughtfully. “Have you found a way to repair the magical bond?”

“No. But maybe you can find something with the information I have given you?” He asked.

The headmistress smiled at him. “I will ask around, maybe I can find something.”

As soon as he had left the office, he headed to the library looking for the only person that could possibly help him finishing his essay in less than a day. Luckily, he found who he was looking for almost immediately.

Malfoy was sitting at a table at the very back of the library, next to him sat Millicent and Sophie Rogers as well as Neville, all apparently working on different classes. Neville was buried into his Herbology notes, Millicent read up on some DADA (Harry could name every book by heart) and Sophie was just checking her notes and some information in the Astronomy book. As for Malfoy, he seemed to read a potion's book. Harry walked closer, a little hesitant, even though he didn’t really know why.

As he reached the table, Malfoy raised his head and smiled at him. “Hey there, did you decide to skip potions on purpose?”

Harry felt heat creep into his face and bit his lower lip. “I got carried away by a book I was reading and I might need your help.”

“For a book?”

“For an essay... about potions.”

Millicent, clearly having listened in to their discussion, frowned and apparently decided to be a part of it. “We don’t have an essay anymore. There was one which we had to finish by last Monday...”

“Yeah, well...” Harry could basically feel the redness in his face.

Malfoy grinned. “I see. You used your special ‘I am the Chosen One’-power and got a little extra time?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “To be honest, Slughorn would do or give anything for me. I’m his little trophy boy.”

Neville chuckled and looked up from his notes, which looked fairly complicated. “You, Harry Potter, are everyone’s trophy boy. I mean, come on! You killed Voldemort! I’m surprised the statue in the Ministry is being rebuilt to its former glory and not into a statue of you!”

“They may have asked...” Harry murmured under his breath, still loud enough for Millicent to have heard it. From the looks of it, so had Malfoy. Both looked at him in utter shock and Malfoy put down his quill.

“Are you telling me that there could have been a golden Potter? In the Ministry? Where basically everybody works?”

“Oh, calm down, Malfoy! I already am the _Golden_ Boy, no need to take it literally and yes, it would have been inside the Ministry, but I’m not one to bath in my stardom, so I said No” Harry rolled his eyes.

“Hey, can they maybe do one of me? When I killed that snake or something. That would make a hell of an amazing statue!” Neville inquired and grinned, definitely envisioning the statue.

Sophie started laughing and rolled her eyes, shoving his arm from the table. “Why would anyone make a statue of you?!”

Harry shook his head a little annoyed. “Neville, I’m sorry, I didn’t ask. Millicent, before you ask, yes, I saw him kill the snake, he actually did it. Sophie, I do sort of hope that his future wife would consider making a statue of him. Or at least praises the ground he walks on” he grinned at Neville’s infuriated look. Then he turned to his former nemesis. “Malfoy, please, can you help me with my essay?”

Instead if answering, the blond wizard packed up his belongings and got up. “The Common Room will do, right?”

Harry nodded, relieved that the Slytherin actually decided to help him, even though he had ignored the lessons.

Unsurprisingly, the Common Room was empty. It was a free period (for most), but most eighth year students used the time to learn or practise something. While they sat down at a table on the far end of the room, Harry thanked Malfoy again.

“I owe you one!”

The Slytherin grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “I could use some more help in DADA, to be honest. You weren’t in the classroom the last time, but we were looking at Basilisks and I just don’t understand them. That way we can cancel our dept.”

“Sure. I have an idea how I can teach you about those creatures” Harry grinned. He had wanted to show Malfoy the Chamber of Secrets, now he could grab the opportunity for both topics and show them to his friend.

He grabbed his parchment and showed it to Malfoy who carefully read through it and pointed out some grammatical mistakes as he went along. Harry had decided to write about their potion, he already knew it had worked, so why not write about it?

After an hour, Harry was pretty happy with all the ideas Malfoy had presented him for his essay and was already half finished, while the Slytherin pulled out the stuff he had been working on with the rest.

*

In the evening, when he walked through the castle back from Slughorn’s office, he passed the marauders and stopped dead in his tracks. He was convinced at least one of them had wanted to travel into the future. The question was: who was the idiot that thought it was a good idea?

Following his impulse, he walked towards them. It strangely reminded him of what happened the very first night. As he walked closer, he could hear snippets of their conversation, since they hadn’t seen or heard him.

“… but that alone doesn’t make sense!”

Sirius shook his head seemingly a little angry. “We clearly need to take some kind of action to find out more!”

Remus held up his hands and shook his head. “Please don’t do anything stupid. We’re already here and this already was a stupid action.”

“I agree” Harry said, biting back a smirk at the surprised looks he got, when the marauders turned around. He decided to talk about what he had found out this morning. “Apparently, you wanted to travel into the future, did you not?”

He knew Remus wasn’t the one who wanted to travel through time; he just wanted to keep his friends from doing something stupid – exactly what he was trying to do now. So, it was either James or Sirius. Harry gave them both a stern look, which interestingly broke his godfather.

“Okay, listen, Harry… We… We only wanted to go ten years…”

Remus stared at his friend and shoved him back. “You did what?! You wanted to go to the future?!”

Ten years? That would have been around 1985. Harry was living with the Dursley’s, James was dead, Sirius in Azkaban und Remus probably hiding his ‘illness’. Knowing all of this brought back the pain of him knowing what was going to happen to the boys in front of him.

Before Remus could seriously hurt his friends, which Harry was sure he wouldn’t, he turned to the time travelers. “You should be happy you’ve landed here after the war. I’m not sure you could have survived it and I don’t know what would have happened if you guys died in the future.”

Or the past or whatever… Sirius rolled his eyes, clearly not happy with everything that was being said.

“How can we be happy, if we don’t know anything about the war?! We want to help, to undo everything wrong and fight in the war, survive it and live happily ever after!”

Harry swallowed hard. If he would have travelled into the future with Hermione and Ron, met his child and found out that he would be dead after a war, he would have reacted the same. Ron as well. Only Hermione would have understood that this was how time worked. People are getting born and they die. That’s life.

“You. Cannot. Do. This.” Harry held Sirius glaring gaze and after the younger boy gave up, he started talking again. “Without any of your deaths all of this would go entirely different!” Not even their deaths. If Sirius found out he would be spending twelve years in Azbakan – innocently – that Pettigrew would still be alive, he could do all kinds of stupid things. James would probably make Sirius secret keeper or Remus.

“I want to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts! I want to see it!” Sirius said loudly and angrily.

Harry rubbed his temples. He had an idea. A very, very bad idea. But if it would make them shut up, he should do it…

“Follow me” he said and walked up to McGonagall’s office, where he knew Dumbledore had kept the pensive. Maybe showing them a little bit of the Battle of Hogwarts – letting them _see_ it, would be enough to keep them quiet. For a while at least. The only problem was that Remus would be able to see what happened and he was fighting it.

Once he was inside the headmistress’ office and explained his plan, he could see her hesitating and looking at the marauders.

“There are a few rules for the memories you’re going to show them” McGonagall started quietly. “If you follow them, I’ll be willing to let them see it.” The time travelers were too curious not to accept everything they were given and Harry was okay not to show any memories surrounding Remus. He couldn’t stomach to see him lying on his death bed. “Firstly; no names” the headmistress started. Harry nodded. “Second rule: everything concerning Remus Lupin is not allowed to be seen. Third rule: You’re allowed to start at the very beginning. The preparations for the battle. And last” McGonagall hesitated, but seemingly decided to say it nevertheless. “You are to follow them into the memories. I’m not going to let them wander around in there alone.”

Harry almost choked on his own salvia. Yes, it made sense, but he hadn’t thought about it. He had already lived through it once in therapy, now he had to do it again?! As he looked over to his father and friends, he could see their curious faces and knew that he had to go through with it.

Slowly, he brought out the memories that worked with all the rules and closed his eyes. He then motioned the three time travelers to follow him into the worst few hours of his life. Or at least the one he could remember.


	35. T is Trauma Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and his friends gets to see what happens in the Battle of Hogwarts.

They were in the Great Hall, but it looked differently. The tables were full, everyone looked either tired or scared and a lot of students had fresh scars on their arms, necks or faces. James turned around and saw McGonagall in front of everyone. She looked stressed, tired and not at all as he remembered her. She was just talking about a fight that was supposed to happen now. So Harry actually did it. He let them see the memories!

James turned around to look for the memory of his son and found him standing in a corner with a look in his eyes that was pure determination. Suddenly, he felt enormously proud of him. He was going to save everyone in this room! He was a hero! His son was a hero!

McGonagall just gave orders to evacuate all students that weren’t of full age and everyone started walking, lead by Filch and Madam Pomfrey. As James peaked outside he could see the professors setting up some kind of boundary to protect Hogwarts. He could basically feel the adrenaline rushing through his body, so it was actually happening!

When he turned around he could see the same look in Sirius’ face, only Remus was a little hesitant. Probably, because he would still be alive by that time – hopefully.

Suddenly the memory shifted; there was probably something that Harry didn’t want to show them, since they suddenly stood in front of the Room of Requirement. James recognized the man who told them about the Time Turners in the Ministry next to a lot of redheads and some other people. He did know some names: Ron and Ginny, both friends of Harry’s. As he turned around to look at his son, he could see him biting back tears, while looking at two identical redheads standing a little behind everyone else. He slowly and shakily exhaled and looked away for a second.

James felt a little guilty for having him relive whatever happened there. However, soon enough his attention was brought to a man standing next to everyone. It was Remus! An adult Remus! He looked extremely different, glowing somehow. Happy and determined to fight. It was almost beautiful. As he looked at the short exchange between Memory Harry and Remus he recognized a special kind of love and it warmed his heart. At least Remus was there for Harry, when he wasn’t or couldn’t. However, hadn’t McGonagall said, there weren’t supposed to be any memories surrounding Remus? Maybe this one slipped past his son...

The memory shifted once again, then there was a voice... ringing through all the busy halls at Hogwarts. It made James’ blood freeze. Not only the voice, but the message as well...

"I know that you are preparing to fight. Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter, and they shall not be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

A girl called for someone to grab his son and James remembered Draco Malfoy saying something about his friend doing that… He couldn’t remember her name anymore, but it didn’t seem important. The memory shifted again.

And then it happened.

The fight, the Battle of Hogwarts!

The bad people attacked the castle, though they couldn’t enter as Sprout and Neville had used some dangerous plants against them, the suits of armors protected the bridge and everywhere were duels happening. James could feel the castle shaking from all the attacks and protections. He saw Memory Harry meeting with a man looking a lot like Dumbledore and Hagrid as well as another giant. The portraits were jumping from different frames, giving news from other battle fronts and screaming on top of their lungs for some courage. The air was thick of adrenaline and anxious preparations.

The memory shifted to the Room of Requirement, now suddenly going up in flames. James stumbled back, not sure whether or not the flames in the memory could hurt him as well, he saw Memory Harry grabbing some brooms for his friends and flying off, just then he spotted Draco Malfoy and another boy. His heart grew big as he saw his son and his friends rescuing them both.

Then the memory shifted again. James looked at his son – not the memory version – and saw him violently holding his eyes closed. Whatever happened or was about to happen apparently didn’t go well with him. He again felt guilty for wanting to know what happened in the war, but he just needed to know…

"You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured“ the voice said. James looked around and saw them standing in the Shrieking Shack. Suddenly the memory seemed to shudder and they saw nothing for a while.

James, Remus and Sirius turned to Harry with questioning looks. And he started to explain why there was nothing inside, yet they weren’t thrust out of the pensive.

“I wanted to give you some time to think about what happened or prepare what is about to happen.”

Remus frowned. “Why? What is about to happen?”

“Well, I’m about to die” Harry said quietly. James looked at him surprised and a little scared. How could he be alive if he died?! His son explained it more. “You see, I was not supposed to survive this. If me dying could help the rest survive, then really, what choice would I have?”

James caught his gaze flicker over Remus in pain, but back at Sirius and him with an almost normal look.

“And we’re allowed to see him? The bad guy?” Sirius asked both nervous and intrigued.

Harry shook his head and smiled weakly. “No. But I’ve changed my memory before – the Ministry showed me how to manipulate memories, when I had to show them a few things. So you’re seeing a little bit of what happened. Ready?”

James and his friends nodded, though carefully. If Harry wasn’t happy about what happened, how could they be looking forward to it?

The memory came back, they were in the forbidden forest, and he could see Harry hiding under hid Invisibility Cloak, following two people in front of him. Then they entered a ring of bad people and in the middle stood a black figure. James could see nothing. No body features, no face, only a black cloud. He was impressed; his son had powerful magic to be able to change a memory!

Just then the black cloud seemed disappointed that Harry hadn’t made it only for him to reveal himself. His son didn’t fight it, he hadn’t even drawn his wand. Nothing. So when the black cloud called out the Killing Curse, he simply died.

“NO!” James yelled out as the memory shuddered back to white. He turned to Harry and he knew his face was full of pain and shock. Harry simply looked at him. “Why didn’t you fight it?! You fought so hard in the entire battle, but then you decide to simply have yourself killed?! You didn’t even take out your wand!”

Harry nodded. “There was no need to fight it. I was supposed to die, James. Why fight something that’s your destiny?”

“But you’re dead! You… How…” James had lost his understanding. His son was dead. Why was he alive?

His son smiled weakly. “I had a choice. I could choose to die or choose to live. I chose the latter, so I came back from the dead.”

James wasn’t able to say anything and he knew Sirius and Remus didn’t dare, so they stayed quiet until the memories started again. He heard a woman saying “He is dead” and a lot of people yelling in triumph, stamping their feet, shouting and cheering. Since Harry had his eyes closed, they couldn’t really see anything as well. He heard the cloud announcing that they were going to show Harry’s dead body to the crowd and let Hagrid carry him up there.

And then there was this voice again, now talking to the people inside the castle. "Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My…” the next few words were muffled and changed. James looked over to see Harry nodding to himself. Apparently something was said that he didn’t want them to hear. “… outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as well every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before him, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."

James could see the entrance of the castle through the small opening of memory. The first to arrive was McGonagall and when James heard her scream of anger, despair and denial, he admitted with goose bumps all over his body that he had never heard her like that. There were Ron, Hermione and Ginny, all sounding almost like the headmistress herself. He saw Harry being placed at the black cloud’s feet and suddenly after that, the man, Neville apparently tried to disarm him. Even though Harry was dead.

Never before had James felt more proud of Harry’s friends. Even though the battle seemed lost, they were still fighting for him, for what he had believed in.

The memory shifted again and Harry was under his Invisibility Cloak once again, walking through the battle ground, protecting Neville from the black cloud. There were thestrals, a hippogriff and centaurs fighting for Hogwarts, next to the witches and wizards. Harry shot jinxes and courses at the bad people, still hiding under his cloak. He cast shield charm after shield charm for his friends and other fighters and entered the castle.

When the door to the kitchens opened, the memory suddenly shifted and Harry was standing there, visible for everyone. James heard a wave of shocked and delighted screams run through the hall. They were quiet immediately after, as the two walked circles around each other. He could see them talking, but nothing they said reached his ears. Apparently, nothing happened for Sirius and Remus either as they looked at the real Harry confused.

He simply shrugged his shoulders. “I decided that you should see the endgame, but the dialogue would give away everything, so you’re not going to hear anything.

James sighed and turned around to the action. It was once again some powerful magic his son showed them. Did he even realize that? They were talking and circling each other for the longest time, until he could hear two spells at the same time. “Avada Kedavra!” “Expelliarmus!” The next thing that happened was the cloud lying on the floor, unmoving and dead.

And suddenly they were pulled up, away from the memories and back into the real life.

Everyone was quiet. Nobody even dared to talk to Harry. What he had shown them was enough for them to understand how hard it must have been. At least it was enough for James.

McGonagall greeted them as soon as they were back and dismissed everyone but Harry. James quietly walked in front of his friends to the Common Room of the eighth year. Before they reached it, he accidentally walked into Neville, standing outside.

“Oh, sorry” the man smiled and grabbed the small potted flower he’d had in his hands.

“I hope nothing’s broken. Really sorry!” James said quickly and bit his lower lip.

Neville simply smiled and shook his head. “No need to apologize. I’m trying a new spell and just grabbed the first flower I could see.” He looked over the three people in front of him and frowned. “Shouldn’t there always be someone around you? Like a babysitter or something?”

“We don’t need babysitters” Sirius said and rolled his eyes.

This made Neville chuckle and he shrugged his shoulders. “I find that hard to believe. Your parents told you not to go around asking questions about the war, yet here you are doing the exact thing they told you not to do.”

James sighed. “Well, we want to know what we’ve missed. We could have been here fighting!” He had much more respect for Neville after seeing him fighting after Harry’s supposed death.

The tall man quietly stood up and held the pot a little closer than before. Maybe he had made a mistake by saying what he had said.

“Let me tell you something” Neville started quietly. “You really didn’t want to be part of whatever happened here. I’m surprised you haven’t realized that, seeing that all the upper years have their own therapy sessions and meetings, just so they can work through whatever happened to them.”

James wanted to ask the single question that had been on his mind ever since he knew he died, but Sirius started first, with something entirely different.

“And what happens in these therapy sessions?” he asked interested.

Neville shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what the lower classes do, but we just sit together, talk, play games and drink something hot and calming.”

“Sounds a lot like something everyone does on a daily basis… Nothing special” Sirius remarked with raised eyebrows.

This just made Neville chuckle and he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s what we need after being at war for nearly our entire lives. Believe me when I tell you: It helps everyone!”

“I have another question where you could help me” James started, before Sirius could talk or argue that whatever they were doing was stupid. “Why is Harry called _The Boy Who Lived_?”

The tall man visibly hesitated, so James decided to talk him into it. “I mean, it has nothing to do with the war, right?”

Neville huffed quickly and shrugged his shoulders. “To be honest, everything surrounding Harry has something to do with the war. But if you promise not to tell anyone that I was the one explaining his name to you, I might consider clarifying it.”

James, Sirius and even Remus nodded. To be honest, James was a little surprised that Remus had let them talk about the war that long, but maybe after seeing his adult part, he was interested as well.

“Well, when he was a child, I think he was about a year old, the main villain here, attacked his family and ended up killing his father and mother. But when he tried to cast the Killing Curse on Harry, he survived it and defeated the baddy for a while at least. That’s why they call him The Boy Who Lived, because he was supposed to die when the curse hit him” Neville explained. “We all grew up with stories surrounding him and how he defeated the big bad guy. There wasn't a witch or wizard who didn't know his name when I was child. It's probably the same today.”

James could feel Sirius’ und Remus’ gaze on him and looked to the floor. So. This was it. He basically had no time with his son. He was going to die a year after he was born. A year! Harry wouldn’t even be able to remember anything of what happened in there. 

“Are you okay?” he heard Neville talking again and looked up, smiling and nodding.

“Of course, thank you!”

Neville nodded, looked at him again a little worried, but walked off eventually. Sirius and Remus stayed quiet as well, probably not knowing what to say. So, James decided to bring them out of their misery. “Well, at least, Harry’s going to be living with the best dogfather in the world and with the one who’ll fight in the Battle of Hogwarts with him.”


	36. No Time to catch your Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's having another break down after reliving the Battle of Hogwarts. Luckily, someone's there to help him through.

It was a mistake. Why did she have to make him accompany them? McGonagall had asked after they were gone, if he was okay with everything, but everyone could lie. Everyone could say ‘sure, yeah. I removed all the bad things’. Everyone. And so did he.

Truth was he wasn’t okay. It had awoken some of the sleeping monsters deep inside him. It had awoken the guilt of seeing Fred, Tonks and Remus again. The knowledge of their impending death. It had awoken the terrible feelings during the battle. He couldn’t take it anymore.

And suddenly everything he had buried, during his two weeks alone in Grimmauld Place after the war, was back. The feeling that everything was his fault. Like he could never be happy again. He had destroyed families. It was all him.

Harry leaned at a wall and exhaled shakily, while closing his eyes. Why did he do this? Why couldn’t he just ignore his father and friends and go back to a state he was before they arrived? He had been okay, sometimes even feeling happy. And now, all he felt was a terrible deep hole, nothing but pain and suffering around him.

He felt the tears running down his face, but didn’t have the strength to wipe them away. Then, he slid down and sat there, alone in a dark corridor, silently crying about how his life had turned out to be so bad. He could feel his heart almost punching a hole in his chest and his hands trembled. He placed his head on his knees and held the back of his neck tight with both his hands, while his elbows rested on his knees right next to his head. Normally, this had given him some kind of stability. Not today. Living through his worst nightmare again, brought back everything.

He needed space. To be alone. It was too much, simply too much. The strength to get up had left him a long time ago, so he stayed on the floor, silently praying for no one to walk by and his friends not missing him, as well as for his state of mind to disappear in a few minutes.

He should have known that nothing of what he was praying for would happen, as he heard steps and then suddenly, felt someone next to him on the floor. He could feel a warm and comforting hand on his back, quiet words of nonsense being said and a sweep of magic rushed over him, warming him, calming him down. Then he was pulled into a hug and held tightly.

Harry kept his eyes closed, but he felt his entire body relax slowly. The smell of thousands of roses met his nose, pine trees and chocolate followed as well. He huddled up against the person, whoever it was. It didn’t matter anyway. He was just happy to be saved from his state of mind. Then the words finally broke through to his mind and he realized who was talking to him. Not just did he recognize the voice, but who else would be talking to him in French?

“Tout va bien se passer. Tu es en sécurité. Il ne va rien t'arriver. Je suis là pour toi. Calme-toi, c'est tout. C'est pas grave. Tout va bien pour toi.”

Harry wiped his eyes and felt another hand on his face as well. “Tout va bien pour toi, petit calinours.”

They stayed there, Harry half sitting, half lying in Malfoy’s embrace, the Slytherin on his knees, holding his former nemesis close. After a while, Harry tried to get out of the comfortable hug, but Malfoy kept holding him tight. He struggled a little harder, but couldn’t get out of it.

“What are you doing?” Harry asked, still being held at Malfoy’s chest.

“Nothing.” He could feel the vibration of the other man’s voice and smiled weakly. It made him feel weirdly comfortable. He wanted to hear him talk again, wanted to feel the vibration of his voice. Surely, if he kept talking and asking questions, his former nemesis would have to keep talking.

“Why don’t you let me go?”

“’Cause you’re not well enough yet.”

Harry smiled at the Slytherin’s lazy use of language and tried again to get free, however, less motivated. If he would have been honest with himself, he would have admitted that he didn’t really want to leave the safety of Malfoy’s hug. But, he definitely was not going to be honest about something like that.

“I’m good to go, Malfoy. Just let me get up.”

“No.”

Harry chuckled against the Slytherin’s chest and tried a little harder to get out of his hug. “Malfoy, come on. I’m not playing, just let me get up.”

“As if I’m playing, Potter” he could hear the blond rolling his eyes and grinned, hiding his face in the other man’s chest. He felt Malfoy holding him even tighter and bit back a content sigh. It made no sense. Ron, Neville, Hermione and a lot more people had hugged him as well more than once, but it didn’t make him feel this way. It never felt so much like home, it never felt so safe. Not even if he was being hugged by Molly.

“If you keep holding me like that, I might get a cramp in my legs or something.”

The man in control laughed softly and it vibrated through his entire body and made Harry smile with an unexpected red face. He chuckled quietly against Malfoy’s chest and even though he really didn’t want to, he snuggled closer into the hug. He probably just needed some human contact after what happened in McGonagall’s office.

“The day you’ll get a cramp is the day dogs learn to talk and do magic spells” he said and rubbed Harry’s shoulder.

Harry grinned and shook his head. “My godfather was an Animagus, a dog, and he could speak, so…”

“Actual dogs, Potter! Get your shit together and start thinking like a normal human being again.”

“Hey!” Harry didn’t want to listen to him again and tried to get out of the embrace once more, but over the last few minutes, he had been held tighter and tighter. Right now, he couldn’t even move an inch. “Malfoy, let me go!”

“I’ve already answered this: no.”

“Let me go!”

“No” Malfoy’s voice was stern and Harry knew deep down that there was nothing he could do to convince him to let him go. That didn’t mean, he should stop trying.

“I don’t like you so much anymore! Just let me go, we can repair this then.”

“Repair what?” Malfoy frowned, but kept Harry pressed against himself. It scared him, how much he didn’t really want to move.

“Whatever’s been going on between us, Malfoy” he rolled his eyes. “Our friendship, you idiot.”

“Well, dear _Chosen Idiot_ , not everyone does things you want them to do.”

Harry struggled in his hug again and hid his face in the other man’s chest. He felt protected, surrounded by the smell of the other man and smiled weakly. Malfoy started talking again after some time. “I’ll let you go, when I think you’re feeling better.”

“I’m feeling better!”

“I don’t think so” the Slytherin answered and Harry was honestly happy to have a few more seconds close to the blond wizard, feeling as safe as he never had before.

“What do I need to do for you to believe me that I’m okay?” Harry asked.

“For one, stop trembling” Malfoy answered and just then Harry realized that he was actually shaking rather violently. He relaxed a little more and was happy to notice how it faded slowly but surely. “And maybe you should let go of my shirt, while trying to free yourself.”

“What?!” Harry looked surprised at his hand, which he was clinging to the Slytherin’s shirt. He could feel the heat creeping into his face and hid away quickly. “Sorry.”

Malfoy chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t worry. There have been worse thing done to it.”

“You suck.”

“Thank you, Potter. I’ll write that to all the other insults I have collected over the years, though this one seems to be rather weak compared to the others.”

Harry released the Slytherin’s shirt and rubbed his hand over his face again. “Could you please let me get up now? I’m feeling much better than before.”

“Let me look at you” Malfoy said and loosened his grip on Harry who turned to face him. He was met with a skeptical look of grey eyes. They were like a whirlwind, a stormy, cloudy night, sitting by the warm fire, enjoying the crackling, the water pouring down and the comfort of close friends. It left Harry more than a little confused, but the Slytherin apparently didn’t notice. He nodded softly. “I believe you.”

Suddenly, Harry felt the tight hug around him loosen and disappear. Malfoy was standing and held a hand out for him to get up as well. When they were both standing, Harry bit his lower lip and smiled then at his savior.

“Thank you.”

Malfoy smiled back and nodded. “Don’t mention it. What happened? I thought you were doing quite well?”

Harry wanted to tell him. He wanted to talk about everything that was going on. He wanted to say how his father and friends were here, how they kept drilling for information and how he had thought it was a good idea for them to see the Battle of Hogwarts, but that he hadn’t counted on his own emotions betraying him. How McGonagall’s concerned look had brought back all the emotions he had been hiding in a dark corner of his mind, where he didn’t want to look at. He wanted to tell him how he couldn’t keep this happy facade up any longer, how he felt like breaking down any second now.

He knew he couldn’t say any of this. “Nothing.”

Malfoy looked at him, assessing him and Harry was sure that he didn’t believe him. To be honest, if he would have found him like that and the answer to ‘what’s going on’ would be ‘nothing’, he would ask him into oblivion.

The Slytherin on the other hand shrugged his shoulders. “Just promise me, you’ll come talk to me, when you feel ready.”

Harry smiled weakly and nodded. How could he be blessed with such amazing friends?! Weirdly enough, there was something else happening. He already missed the closeness, the feeling of being protected and safe in the other man’s arms. He couldn’t understand why. Or maybe, just maybe he didn’t want to know why. The answer to this unasked question seemed to be a little bit too dangerous for him right now.

“So, you can speak French?” he asked, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

Malfoy grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “Comes with the territory of being a pureblood.”

“Really? All purebloods can speak French?” Harry somehow found this hard to believe. Once again, Neville was a pureblood, but he had never heard him speaking French. On the other hand, he had followed Malfoy for six or seven years very closely, yet never heard him speak French... Why now?

The Slytherin laughed. “Well, I’m not saying, everyone likes talking French, but my mother loved the language and she kept talking French with me. If I wanted to have a civilized conversation with her, I had to learn French. Which I did, eventually.”

“Sounds a little harsh...” Harry commented, but shrugged his shoulders. “Then again, I don’t think an uncivilized idiot like me could understand pureblood relationships, but... I don’t know.”

Malfoy laughed and shook his head. “You’re selling yourself a little short, Potter.”

“What? I’m not an uncivilized, half-blood idiot?”

“Oh no, no, you are. But you also saved the Wizarding World, so that makes up for all your losses. All pureblood folks would be happy to welcome you to their family” the Slytherin said and winked at him, which made Harry roll his eyes.

“Surprisingly, I did notice that! As if I was going to accept just _anybody_ ’s hand in marriage!”

Malfoy chuckled. “Got some offers, didn’t you?”

Harry simply grinned and let the question hang in the air. He had another question in mind. Malfoy had called him something with cali... twice in a row and he kind of wanted to know what it meant. If he would let him keep calling him that, at the very least he should get a translation for it, otherwise it could have just been an insult in French.

“So, what’s the thing you always say? That call-thing?”

Harry saw a little redness creep into the Slytherin’s face and he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s nothing bad, just a little... help for you to get back on your feet.”

“Malfoy.”

“Potter?”

“Tell me.”

The other man rubbed the back of his neck, clearly a little embarrassed, but seemed to decide to tell him what that thing meant. “It’s calinours – _cally-new-r_ ” he explained how to say it in French and bit his lower lip. “It means... bear.”

“Bear? Just bear? Why would you call me bear?” Harry was confused. That didn’t sound like something someone would say to another human being! Bear?!

“Um... well… it actually... it means teddy bear” Malfoy stuttered and Harry could see his face as red as a tomato.

“You... Hold on” Harry rubbed his forehead. “Are you calling me ‘Teddy Bear’?!”

If the situation wasn’t so weird, Harry would have started laughing aloud by the face Malfoy made, however, he really didn’t want to be called teddy bear! So he simply shook his head and tried to think of something good to say, something that would convince the Slytherin not to call him teddy bear again. Why would he even do something like that?!

“Maybe” Malfoy said, not meeting his eyes.

Harry bit his lip, trying to force the grin from his face, but he couldn’t stop it and started laughing eventually anyway. “Holy shit, Malfoy! It’s freaking adorable, I can’t be mad at something like that!” He hid his face in his hands, still chuckling and shook his head.

When he finally stopped laughing and raised his head to look at the other student, Malfoy stood there, mouth open, surprised and clearly not really understanding what just happened. Harry himself also had no idea, why he started laughing and accepted his fate in being called teddy bear, but it was really cute! So, why not...?

“You do realize I will keep calling you calinours until we die, now that you agreed to it?” the Slytherin asked with a sly grin.

“Oh I’m sure of it” Harry answered. “I’m also quite certain that, if you had a say in it, you’d be writing it on my tomb stone...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French guide:
> 
> Tout va bien se passer. = Everything's going to be okay.  
> Tu es en sécurité. = You're safe.  
> Il ne va rien t'arriver. = Nothing's going to happen to you.  
> Je suis là pour toi. = I'm here for you.  
> Calme-toi, c'est tout. = Just calm down.  
> C'est pas grave. = It's okay.  
> Tout va bien pour toi. = You're okay.


	37. Finding the Time to enjoy Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry learns a few things in Potions and Transfiguration and when the weekend's here, the marauders convince him to take them to Hogsmeade.

Another Wednesday, another double Potions, followed by a free period and double Transfiguration. The marauders walked off into their own classes (James staying with McGonagall for his free periods, Sirius enjoying his rebellious phase in Muggle Studies and Remus learning everything he could from Arithmancy, before he had to change back into the real him and stay in the Shrieking Shack for another week), while Harry was actually looking forward for Potions classes. He knew it was just because last time was amazing, as he won the challenge with Malfoy.

This time, Slughorn separated the initial groups again and gave them all the same potion: Amortentia. Hermione worked together with Susan, Ron with Ernest, Malfoy with Anthony and Harry with Millicent.

Harry already knew how it smelled for him, so it wasn’t really interesting. He knew it would smell like treacle tart, a broomstick handle and Ginny. However, maybe the last one had probably changed… so it could still be a little new.

Without talking much, Harry and Millicent worked efficiently and added the ashwinder eggs, rose thorns, peppermint oil and a moonstone before stirring. After a while, Harry looked inside to see the characteristic mother of pearl color and grinned at the Slytherin.

“I think we’re pretty good.”

Milicent nodded. “Out of curiosity, what do you smell?” she asked.

Harry stopped and smelled the air. It didn’t smell like a broomstick handle at all. Ginny was also missing. Instead it smelled like a picnic in a park with desserts and other fruits. He could basically hear the warm summer wind rushing through the trees and feel the comfortable hug of friendship. He had never felt the same, smelling Amortentia.

“A walk in a park” he answered and asked her for her smell.

“I smell the salt water, horses, a fire and seaweed” Millicent grinned and closed her eyes, clearly lost in all the smells. Harry had to admit that it did sound amazing – not as genius as his own creation, but still fairly good.

Unsurprising, all the students had a perfect potion at the end of the double lesson, even though Harry knew that Malfoy had done more than half of what Anthony did, so that he didn’t mess up. It made him grin: apparently he wasn’t the worst student in this class.

At lunch, Harry had grabbed the marauders, they held some unimportant discussions about all the creatures living in the forbidden forest and how they had their first detention inside it – even James and Sirius were surprised. It looked like their detention never went outside the castle. Lucky them. For the name _forbidden_ forest, they did spent quite some time inside.

Rabnott, the Transfiguration professor, apparently had a treat for the people staying in his class. They were twelve students: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Malfoy, Millicent, Hanna, Fay, Seamus, Dean, Padma, Anthony and Zabini.

“I have gotten special permission for you to learn how to become Animagi!” he stared. Harry stopped dead in the middle of his movement, everyone else did something similar. Could they actually become Animagi!? That was amazing!

The professor continued. “It takes skills, patience and practice to become an Animagi. It’s dangerous, as you can be stuck as a half-human, half-animal if done incorrectly. The process is long and hard and complicated, but if you manage to transform into an animal, you will be able to do this for the rest of your life with or without wand.”

The noise level rose extremely. Nobody really believed that they’d get the chance to learn how to become an Animagus, but now apparently they would. Rabnott had serious trouble calming everyone down again. “For now, all we learn are the details of what you’re supposed to do, how the process works – it’s a month long process from full moon to full moon. Before Christmas break, you can choose if you want to become an Animagi – it’s fine if you choose not to – and we start the process on the second of January. Yes, I know this is still in your break, but otherwise we’d have to wait another month. We’ll talk more about this, once the Christmas breaks are closer. For now, open your books at page two hundred and twelve. Read the first six paragraphs and write down, what you think your Animagi form would be.”

Harry was feeling extremely motivated: he could become an Animagus! He would have never thought that would happen! The text they had to read was about how the animal form was determined by the personality and inner traits of the user. He frowned. That could make him… a stag? Like his father? A lion? Wait, that would be amazing! If his Animagus form was a lion, he could be the most proud person ever – the only problem would be that he could be found fairly easy. Wild lions in the UK are not really common…

His Animagus form would have an identifying mark on its body that would be caused by something he was or he had. So… his scar. If his Animagus form would have the same damn scar over its face, Harry wasn’t sure what he’d do then…

While leaving class, Harry caught the eyes of a certain Slytherin, who also looked a little unsure. He was joined by him rather quickly.

“If I find out that my Animagus form’s a ferret, I might just throw myself from the bridge or go drown myself in the lake” Malfoy said rolling his eyes.

Harry laughed and shook his head. They were joined by Hermione and Ron who were both discussing the same topic. Harry knew that everyone in Transfigurations was talking about it. Even if they decided not to become an Animagi in the end, the idea was still amazing. Ron was hoping to become something big and scary, like an elephant, Hermione was sure she’d be a cat, maybe even a ginger cat, who knew.

“I think you could be a butterfly” Malfoy said grinning, his eyes sparkled mischievous. He was so close to Harry that it sent shivers down his spine, but he glared at the Slytherin instead.

“You know, I was rooting for you not to become a ferret, but after that comment, I sort of hope you end up just like that!” Harry crossed his arms over his chest. “I will not transform into a freaking butterfly! Is that even possible?!” He saw Hermione and Ron too close and decided to glare at the other man, who was clearly torn between grinning like crazy and glaring back at him.

Ron stood between them and Harry had to take several steps back. He hadn’t realized how close they were actually standing.

“Okay, can someone please clear up what’s going on?” he asked.

Malfoy snorted and shook his head. “Weasley, did no one tell you to mind your own business?”

Harry could tell he was joking, but he wasn’t sure if Ron got the subtle hints. Seeing his red, slightly angered face, he probably took it a little too serious. Hermione places a calming hand on his arm and pulled it with her. The Slytherin who made him so angry, looked after them and turned then to Harry, frowning.

“I don’t suppose I have to ask, if it was something I said?”

Harry grinned. “No, I suppose you don’t. Maybe be a little nice next time.”

“Well, I’m still mad at you for wanting me to transform into a ferret. It’s as if I wished for you to transform into a freaking snake! I mean, come on!” he threw his hands in the air.

Harry knew what he meant and apologized quickly. They continued walking towards the library, apparently, last night when Malfoy had walked into Harry, he was on his way to grab a book. He never got there, so the least thing Harry could do, was walking to the library with the other man.

“Where are your babies?” Malfoy asked after a few quiet minutes. Harry rolled his eyes, but laughed anyway. He was _baby_ sitting them after all. However, Sirius and Remus would be visibly angry if they'd heard this comment and his father would probably start throwing some random jinxes around.

“James is in Divination, I think Si…”

“James?” Malfoy frowned. Harry froze immediately.

Oh no! He had slipped up good, he almost had mentioned Sirius as well… What should he say now? Was there a way to get out of this?! He glanced at the Slytherin who had raised his eyebrows, assessing Harry closely.

“Well… He… he looks like James, right?” What was this?! Which James, he didn’t know anyone who was called James?! How could he get out?! He needed a way to turn this conversation into a less dangerous one!

Malfoy frowned. “Like who? Did you meet a James over the holidays?”

That was it! A straw to clutch to. “Yes… Yes, I did.”

“Ah.” Harry felt the Slytherin’s eyes on him again, but kept looking straight, walking towards the library. “That man must’ve made quite the impression on you to remember him even in November.”

“You could say that.” It was his father… His father would always make an impression on him… The Slytherin seemed to be a little bit cooler towards him, not that Harry had minded, it was getting a bit too close for comfort as of lately.

*

The rest of the week passed without any problems. The only big difference Harry found was that Malfoy wasn’t any longer waiting in for him after his therapy session. That was not that surprising, maybe he thought that Harry was now in a position where he didn’t need anyone waiting for him. He seemed to hold onto the colder side recently, but Harry had different things in mind.

For one, the very first Quidditch game was happening: Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. Ginny was the team captain; they hadn’t found anyone good enough to play for a seeker, so she had stepped up and took said position, even though everyone knew her heart was more in the chaser game. Of course they had won! Ginny caught the snitch after just fifteen minutes…

Harry and Ron had also accepted the marauders begging to go and visit Hogsmeade – McGonagall had first refused, but they already knew too much, so in the end she accepted, but only if they were buying nothing but things to eat.

Hermione had left and said goodbye to go visit her parents at St. Mungo’s. They were getting better much quicker, so their loss of memory a few weeks back was a blessing in disguise. Hermione suggested that maybe soon she’d only had to visit them once every other week. Harry knew she felt guilty for leaving the time travelers with him more often than not. However, Harry had shook his head and told her, it was fine. The only question was if he actually believed it – for now, he wasn’t sure.

So now, they were all walking towards Hogsmeade, together with everyone else who had a weekend trip. Ginny, Luna, Neville, Hanna and Lily accompanied Ron, Harry and the marauders. Their first stop had been Honeyduke’s, where Ron basically bought the entire shop and the marauders bought some chocolate frogs, which Harry realized a little too late had some information about him and his friends inside… By the time he’d caught up with his father and friends and collected the chocolate frogs, the cards were missing. None of the three time travelers obviously knew anything about it. After a that, they sat down at a table inside the Three Broomsticks.

“Nothing’s changed much, has it?” Remus remarked, looking around.

“I guess not” Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Not in here anyway.”

While looking around, Harry came across a certain blond wizard he hadn’t seen all week. Not that he had to; all the vials for his Dreamless Sleep Potion had been on his cushion when he walked into his room and other than in classes, where he had ignored him, he hadn’t seen him.

He didn’t look so good, but Harry might know why: the three Slytherin girls sat at a table close to him with none other than Zabini. They were whispering and looking over to the other Slytherin and glaring whenever he looked up.

Harry wanted to talk to him, help him with whatever was haunting him. But every time he had tried to find the bloody wizard, he was gone. Even with the marauder’s map. As if Malfoy knew he was coming, so he ran. It made Harry feel incredibly guilty, even though he didn’t know why. He missed their friendly, sometimes playful discussions.

“I heard Zabini’s making trouble” Ginny said while she leaned over to Harry, clearly having followed his gaze.

Harry sighed. “Yes, he’s not just trouble for Malfoy, though; I think everyone in our year hates him.”

“Not just your year” Ginny laughed drily. “I heard a fourth year, Katie Vance, talking about how much she likes the house unity you guys show, but that Zabini’s destroying this picture perfect… well, picture.”

Luna suddenly turned towards them and she smiled at them. “I think Blaise just needs to let his Wiseney roam free, and then he would revert back to his usual state of mind.”

Harry frowned and turned to Ginny to ask her what those new creatures were, Luna had found, but his ex only shook her head. Maybe Luna would start talking about nothing else all day.

“I know, darling” Ginny said and placed a soft kiss on her girlfriends cheek. She then turned to the time travelers. “So, how do you like our weekend-trip?”

Ron wisely turned the discussion quickly to another topic, since Harry was sure that the next question would be something about how the weekend trips would look like in Beauxbatons and the three marauders couldn’t possibly answer this truthfully.

Just then, the door opened and Harry felt his gaze shift to a man he knew very well. George Weasley. He looked thin, almost unhealthy, and a little pale and his hair clearly wasn’t tended to. He looked around and smiled weakly, as he recognized the eighth year people sitting at a table. As he walked over, Harry saw him shaking slightly. This place must give him so many memories.

Without saying much, Harry got up and placed another chair at their table, which George gladly took and sat down.

“Hey guys” he greeted everyone, his eyes lingering on the time travelers for a second longer, before turning to the people he knew.

Ron and Ginny smiled at him encouragingly, Neville brought Whiskey from the bar and Lily and Hanna were both up and hugged the newcomer quickly. Harry could see his father and friends frowning a little, but not asking questions, which he was incredibly thankful for.

“So, what brings you here?” Harry asked smiling.

George drowned his whiskey quicker than Harry would have liked, but he didn’t dare say anything. “I’m looking at the place I’ve bought. Some things need to be changed, but I think I could turn it into a very good shop.”

“The students will love it!” Ron laughed and shook his head. He stopped abruptly, when Ginny elbowed him and he looked at her a little surprised.

Harry ignored Ron, even though he wasn’t sure why Ginny wanted him to shut up. Instead, he focused on George. “Ron said you’re working on a box which is unable to be accio’d?”

George’s face lit up and Harry was happy to have changed the subject. “Yes, did you try it?”

Harry shook his head. “We hid Zabini’s wand in there. For now, no one has found it, not even McGonagall. I’m not sure if she tried to accio it…”

George laughed aloud and within seconds his tense body had relaxed. “That is genius! Who had the idea?!” Harry simply gestured towards Ron. “You’re doing amazing, little brother! Maybe I can be proud of you after all!”

“Hey!” Ron yelled out with a red face, which made Neville and Ginny laugh and the rest grin or chuckle.

After they’d talked with George about his new products and he offered Harry two of those boxes free of charge in two weeks time (since he was their money giver) and Harry had accepted it, they went their separate ways. George stayed in with Ginny and Ron, while Harry walked up to the castle with the marauders and Lily. Hanna and Neville had miraculously disappeared a few minutes after their discussion had calmed down.


	38. Give it Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry doesn't like Zabini. And he might just have soome revelations about Malfoy.

“Yo, mudblood!”

Ron stopped dead in his tracks and was about to turn around, when Harry just grabbed him and kept walking. The three of them were on their way to the Great Hall; the marauders had another secret meeting with McGonagall, where she wanted to find out what they did to the Time Turner. It was after all almost two months… And now, directly behind them was Zabini, trying to get them. He had definitely found Ron’s trigger. Next to ‘hey careful, there’s a spider on your shoulder’.

“I’m talking to you, dirty…”

“I swear to god if he keeps saying something else, I’ll kill him” Ron hissed and Harry was sure, when he saw his murderous look on Ron's face that Zabini was going to regret it. Even though he was talking to Hermione, who was doing a great job in completely ignoring him.

Zabini, however, seemed to change his tactics. “Hey Potter, I heard you got an unhealthy addiction last summer!”

Harry froze for just a mini second. Where did that idiot hear that?! The only ones who knew were Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Luna. And Malfoy. But Harry was sure that none of those people would talk to Zabini about this. They kept walking through the castle until they reached the Great Hall for lunch.

There, Zabini apparently gave up for now and walked to the Slytherin table, talking to the three girls that were tormenting Malfoy. Harry caught the signature blond hair at the Ravenclaw table, next to Luna, Ginny, Neville and Susan. Without thinking, Harry followed his best friends to the Gryffindor table and sat down.

“Ron, if you ever kill Zabini, I’ll give you an alibi!” Harry said, rolling his eyes.

Hermione fixed both her friends with a stern look. “Don’t joke about killing people, Harry. That doesn’t make you better than him.”

Harry wanted to answer, but Ron was faster. “Oh, come on! You heard his bloody comments! Everything’s better than that! I don’t want to know what he says to other people.”

Oh, yeah. They were definitely not the only ones being tormented by the Slytherin. What if he talked like this to Malfoy? He was strong, Harry knew it. But he also knew that if you found the right trigger, you could destroy him. He hoped that Zabini wasn’t that good.

Considering that a week ago, when he had visited Andromeda and Teddy, Malfoy was reverting back to the stupid git he had been before the war, Harry was pretty sure that Zabini knew exactly what he was doing. That could possibly end dangerous. As much as they weren’t talking, Harry didn’t want Malfoy to get hurt. It wasn’t that he had the feeling of protecting him, he just… didn’t want to see his former nemesis hurt.

Once lunch was over, Harry escorted the marauders to the Defence class and was afterwards faced with Zabini in an almost empty corridor. The only person around was Harry’s admirer, the girl who sometimes skipped classes just to follow him around. Now, it looked like she had another admirer – bloody Zabini himself.

“Potter” he said sneering and grinned devilishly. Harry felt his stomach turn. He hated Zabini so much. It was definitely not the same as he had hated Malfoy, there was something else, but with Zabini it was just pure hatred. 

He faced his new bully coldly. “Zabini, we have classes: Transfigurations, if you forgot.”

“I don’t forget” the dark skinned man in front of him hissed. “Not that you’d know what I’m talking about.”

Harry indeed didn’t know what he was talking about. There was some information missing, but he wasn’t going to say that. Instead, he glared at the Slytherin, about to throw a punch, when Zabini hit a verbal strike that made Harry freeze up.

“Bet your mother was really happy _you_ were born.”

Shock flooded Harry’s body. He felt his hand slowly turn into a fist and he was squeezing his hand so hard, his knuckles had almost certainly turned white. Anger and pain were suddenly fighting to be the overpowering emotion. Harry couldn’t talk anymore. It was his mistake. If he hadn’t been born, his parents would have still been alive… Him being born was what killed them.

“Shut up!” Harry said very quietly, but he could feel his magic flutter through the air.

Zabini was still grinning devilishly. “Are you going to cry now?”

Harry’s face twitched, he glared at the Slytherin and had his wand drawn in a matter of seconds. “In your dreams.”

The other man drew his new looking wand as well, his eyes full of hatred. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you. You’re nothing! Nobody would care if you died! You don’t have a family who would miss you and your so called friends have other people to turn to.”

Harry’s brain couldn’t process anything else. He yelled the first spell that came into his mind. “ _Locomotor Mortis_.“

Zabini attacked as well. „ _Stupify_!“

They were dueling in front of the DADA classroom until someone had undoubtedly called for McGonagall and she disarmed both of them rather quickly. Harry’s brain kicked in again and he saw his father and friends looking at him impressed and a little confused. Hermione stood at the stairs, arms crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed. Harry knew she wasn’t happy with what happened. She was probably the one that had gotten the headmistress. The other person he recognized immediately was Malfoy. He was standing a little behind the headmistress, following everything closely.

“Dueling in the corridors?!” McGonagall’s voice roared through the hall. “I expect better manners from my eighth year students! Both of you’ll have to serve two weeks of detention. After dinner today, come to my office, I will distribute your work.” With that she turned around and shooed everyone to their classes.

Harry hadn’t his wand back, he was sure McGonagall was going to keep it for a while at least. He followed Hermione to their class, feeling Malfoy’s gaze on his back. He didn’t know how close he was, but apparently close enough to stare at him. Hermione was basically running through the halls and Harry had to hurry to keep up with her. That was how he knew she was really angry.

“How could you, Harry? We both know that Zabini’s an idiot! You shouldn’t take his words too serious!” Hermione talked to him on their way. Zabini had apparently decided not to go to class, so they were safe talking about him.

“He… I... I couldn’t just do nothing, Hermione!”

“Sometimes you need to!” Hermione looked and sounded like Molly, when one of children had done something wrong. Harry sighed and blinked quickly. Why did he tear up now? He really didn’t want to make Zabini’s prediction come to life. He didn’t want to cry.

He probably had to tell her what he’d said. “He said that I’m not worth anything. That my mother was very happy to have me, since you know, I’m the reason she’s dead.” Harry stopped walking and waited for Hermione to turn around. He needed to say it; it was too much to keep it inside. “He also said that no one would miss me if I died. You guys would move on and because I don’t have a family, I wouldn’t matter.”

“Harry, you know that’s not true and…”

“No. He’s right. I…” Harry swallowed hard. He was hoping Hermione would interrupt him, but she let him say, what he had to say. “Maybe it’s better that way. Everyone who gets too close to me gets killed. So maybe I actually am supposed to be alone for the rest of my life.” Those words hurt. Even though they were his and he hoped they weren’t true, the realization that they could be true hurt him very much.

Hermione shook her head. She clearly didn’t understand. But she had Ron and they were happy.

“Listen, Harry. You have to ignore Zabini, don’t let him get under your skin. You’ll find someone who’s going to be your world” She looked at him wholeheartedly. “Now, I’ll tell Professor Rabnott what happened, you stay here until you can face everyone again as your normal you. Okay?”

Harry nodded and rubbed his temples while she walked away. Was he actually going to find someone? A family? Someone who didn’t want to be with him, because of his name and his money and status? After a while, he realized that he wasn’t alone and turned around to see Malfoy. He groaned and stalked to the wall, where he leaned against it.

“What do you want, Malfoy?”

The Slytherin shrugged his shoulders. “That was an intense duel” he remarked and smiled weakly. Harry couldn’t return the smile and simply looked at him, which made the other’s smile falter after a few seconds.

“You do know that she’s right, don’t you?”

Harry bit his lower lip and grabbed his arm tight. “She always is.” He was glad that the Slytherin was here. Those weird discussions they’ve had since they were both back at Hogwarts had helped him enormously. He didn’t know why, but he always felt like he could relax in the other’s presence.

Suddenly, Malfoy was close and pulled his hand wordlessly away from his arm. Harry looked down at his hand, which was still in contact with the Slytherin’s. He felt goose bumps all over his body. When he raised his head and stared into those beautiful grey eyes, his breath hitched. The whirlwind was back. Followed by a beautiful stormy night, comfortable underneath a tree, watching the rain pour over everything.

After a long moment, in which Harry felt his heart racing in his chest, his breath changing from fastening to being gone at all and he couldn’t stop staring into Malfoy’s eyes, the other man turned around and walked down the stairs towards the classroom rather briskly. Harry exhaled and slid down the wall.

Oh, that wasn’t good. No, no, no. That was terrible. What just happened? Did he just realize that… Why was his heart racing? Why was he unable to breathe? Why was he lost in those eyes? Did he just realize that he liked Malfoy? That he liked him as more than just a friend?

He had the most beautiful eyes Harry had ever seen… He leaned his head against the wall and looked at his trembling hands. Great. Amazing. That would give Zabini even more things to say against him. How did he never realize? He had liked Ginny! And Cho… However, he had always followed Malfoy. Even when he was dating Ginny, he still wanted to know what the bloody Slytherin was doing… He always had had a crush on Malfoy. Everything he did made Harry’s heart melt.

How could he have never noticed that?! It had always been him. It had always been Malfoy. Always. Harry trembled and hid his face in his hands. Freaking Malfoy. How could he steal his heart so easily?! The only thing he did was look at him and he was gone? He had never felt something like this in his life. It somehow made him feel more alive…

And Malfoy… he felt like home.

Harry got up with great effort and walked down the stairs, following the man that stole his mind and entered the classroom quietly. He needed to forget this. Malfoy was going to marry a woman and produce heirs, he had said it himself. Even if he didn’t like it, that was how the world – his world worked.

*

Detention. Harry rolled his eyes, as he climbed up the stairs to McGonagall’s office. The Slytherin was nowhere to be seen – at least not now. As soon as he entered her room, she greeted him with a stern look. Harry knew better than to try and talk his way out of it. The best thing he could do was serving his detention and never talking to Zabini ever again.

“Potter” McGongall said and Harry could feel the impact of this simple word: she was really disappointed in him.

“I’m very sorry, Professor.”

The headmistress held up her hands. “There’s nothing I can do, Potter. For your detention today, you will clean the cauldrons in the potion’s class. I will keep your wand until Professor Slughorn sends you back up here.”

Harry nodded and walked back to the dungeons, where he started cleaning the cauldrons. Unfortunately, this action gave him a lot of time to think about what he had discovered this afternoon…

He’d had therapy before dinner, but had said nothing about what happened. He said nothing about the duel and he didn’t mention his revelation. Instead, they talked about how to overcome a flashback and Angelica helped him by showing a few different breathing techniques.

So, now he was sitting in the gloomy potions classroom, cleaning the cauldrons which some students clearly didn’t do. Harry was unsure if he had cleaned the last one he had used... however, even though he tried to focus his thoughts on cleaning and on how he would always clean his cauldron from now on, his mind had other ideas.

He suddenly saw all the different situations where he interacted with Malfoy. It made him question if he had ever been flirting without realizing it. Or maybe the other man had been flirting? Harry was confused. He didn’t know what to think.

Malfoy was gay, he had told him. But why? Why did he tell him? Yes, the situation had been intense and the Slytherin had explained that he wanted to make him feel like himself again – but there were definitely other things he could have done, right? No need to explain his sexuality… Why did he do it?

There was another question on Harry’s mind: Why was he always around him? Not so much lately, but he had always been there. Whenever something bad had happened, he had been there. He had watched over him.

Did he… did he maybe have feelings for him? Was that why he had told him that he was gay? Maybe he had been waiting for Harry to return the feelings…

There was only one problem: What if he had read too much into this situation? What if – yes, Malfoy was gay, but if he hadn’t any feelings for him. They were just meant to be great friends? He didn’t even know if Harry was gay or not, so it could be that the Slytherin just wanted to be friends. Nothing more. Harry bit his lower lip and finished the last cauldron in no time. Slughorn seemed to be happy with how he worked, since he had let him go rather quickly. While Harry climbed up to McGonagall’s office to retrieve his wand, he couldn’t get it out of his head: Malfoy had no feelings for him. He just wanted to be friends…


	39. One Word at a Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something goes terribly wrong in a DADA lesson and Harry's facing a problem.

Days seemed to fly by. Harry still had to go to McGonagall every day after dinner and get his detention. Sometimes he had to do something with Zabini together, which meant they would work silently, ignoring each other until they were done. All the other times, he would spend them alone, cleaning various places in the castle or helping the headmistress in research for the marauders.

It wasn’t surprising then, when the time came and Remus had to go into hiding again. This time, McGonagall’s excuse for him missing classes was that his mother had suddenly taken very ill and he left to be with her. The werewolf was hiding in the Shrieking Shack, where Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the marauders in this time line stayed and helped him with the loneliness. The marauders talked about the lessons, Hermione helped him with all the stuff he didn’t understand – except for DADA, which none of the current students felt like teaching their former, past and future professor. Ron talked Quidditch with him (which Harry was confused, since he never really thought Remus was into that game) as well as some news about the Ministry. And Harry, well he stayed with the boy the most and they quietly learned and read about all sort of things, as well as about the Time Turners.

It was Thursday, the second day of Remus’ hiding and Harry was babysitting the marauders during lunch. Hermione hadn’t finished her essay they had to hand in today for DADA (she had picked some weird topic where there weren’t that many books written about) and Ron decided to help his girlfriend, even though Harry was convinced he was trying to copy from her.

He was just incredibly happy that none of the marauders were trying to get any information out of him… at least for now. There was, however, something that wanted to escape and he couldn’t hold it back.

“Is it hard to become an Animagus?” Harry asked into the quiet. Immediately, there were three pairs of eyes on him.

“Are you serious?” James asked and shoved Sirius away, before he could even attempt to say something related to his name.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “We got the chance to become Animagi and I would love to become one. I’m just a little skeptic with the process. It’s supposed to be quite difficult.”

Sirius nodded and placed his plate on the floor. “It is! But I’m sure you can do it! From what I’ve gathered, you’re supposed to be a good wizard, right?” he grinned, which made Harry roll his eyes.

“Thank you, Sirius. It means a lot coming from you.” Harry realized his sarcasm levels were way too high for this to be a real statement, so he sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Okay, it actually does mean a lot coming from you. Sorry about that.”

Sirius’ shocked face turned into a wide smile and he looked at James triumphantly. “See, I told you; he likes me!”

Harry shook his head, but he caught James doing the exact same thing and was suddenly not so sure whether he should be crying or laughing about that.

“I don’t know how much we’ve told you in your past or our future, but you know that Sirius and we can transform into animals. Peter still has some problems, but I’m sure he’ll figure it out eventually. So, we know you can do this!” James said ignoring Sirius.

Harry smiled at his father and they continued eating their lunch, until Hermione and Ron entered and made everyone, except Remus, go back to the castle for the rest of the lessons. They escorted Sirius and James to their History of Magic class and walked towards the Defense classes.

In front of the room were fifteen students when Harry, Ron and Hermione met them. They were definitely the biggest group of students in a class of their entire year. When the door finally opened and they looked for a place to sit down, Harry was met with a very clear picture of what was going to happen. The tables and chairs had been removed, instead, they were facing three long podiums, which resembled the one where Snape and Lockhart once had their duel.

Ron harrumphed and rolled his eyes. “Duels! Really? As if we hadn’t had enough of those. All of us fought in the Battle! No need to show us _how_ to do this!”

“I think it has something to do with a little something else” Hermione said and looked over to Harry who grinded his teeth, trying not to answer.

“I sort of wish that Lockhart would walk out. That would most certainly make my day!” Ron pondered after a second and made Hermione giggle and Harry roll his eyes. Though Harry had to admit he’d rather be dueling Lockhart than Zabini.

Bellchant walked out behind everyone and raised his voice over the noise everyone was making. “Good afternoon, everyone! Today, I want to see your dueling skills. This is an important part of your N.E.W.T.s, so be ready to give everything you’ve got!” he sounded so happy that Harry had trouble controlling his temper.

They all knew how to duel! They had fought in a war! They had defended Hogwarts! Why would Bellchant think they needed to show what they could do?! They had survived the war. So, if they were ever attacked again, Harry was sure that all of them were able to protect themselves.

“I will compose the different duels as I see fit” Bellchant continued and started grouping everyone. Hermione and Millicent, Anthony and Fay, Parvati and Terry, Padma and Sophie, Seamus and Daphne, Dean and Ron, Neville and Hanna, Michael and Zabini and then Malfoy and Harry.

Harry had been incredibly happy not to be put into one group with the one and only Zabini. It looked like, Malfoy was happy about that as well.

“Since we don’t have nine stages, you will share one with two other groups. One group will fight, the other two groups assess the duelers: what they did well, where they could start to be better.” Bellchant separated them into three groups and gave them each a podium.

Harry sat down in front of one podium and waited for his group to arrive. Hermione and Millicent sat next to him, as did Padma, Sophie and Malfoy. Since they didn’t know who should start, Millicent offered to be the first pair. Hermione clearly wasn’t happy about that, but she couldn’t say no, apparently.

Both girls stood up on the podium. The other podiums were occupied by Neville and Hanna as well as Parvati and Terry. On Bellchant’s count, the groups started to throw mild curses at each other, blocking them easily. For a while it looked like Millicent had the upper hand, until Hermione threw one rather nasty hex that gave her exploding pimples.

Harry could see Hermione about to freak out, when Millicent dropped her wand, Malfoy yelled something in French, but once the Slytherin girl on the stage started laughing loudly and Bellchant came by and undid whatever jinx Hermione threw, everything seemed to be okay again.

“Very well!” Bellchant yelled on top of his lunges. He gave Paravti her fingers back (which had been removed by a pretty obvious jinx called ‘finger-removal-jinx’) and undid Neville’s full body-bind-hex. “The winners of those duels are the following students: Granger, Boot, Abbott. Well done. Next pairs!”

Without saying much, Sophie and Padma climbed the podiums. Harry looked over to the next stages: Anthony against Fay and Ron was fighting Dean. Harry had his money on Dean, which he wasn’t going to tell anyone, of course. It would have been entirely different, if it was Ginny up there. No, actually not. He would have still bet against Ron.

Bellchant let the duels start and Harry had to admit that both Sophie and Padma did a very well job in attacking and defending. In the end, though, the Ravenclaw seemed to be overpowering the Hufflepuff. Padma shot two quick spells after each other, the last one being _Expelliarmus_ , which effectively disarmed Sophie and made Padma the winner of their duel.

“Winners” Bellchant’s voice roared through the room. “Patill, Goldstein, Thomas.”

The girls jumped off the stage, Hermione handed Sophie’s wand back to its rightful owner and Malfoy and Harry climbed up. Before they separated into their respective ends, Harry grinned at the Slytherin.

“If I hear you saying _Scared, Potter_ , I’ll have you killed.”

Malfoy rolled his eyes. His smirk, however, made Harry feel something in his stomach that was close to butterflies. “Is it those exact words you don’t want to hear or do you mean the…”

Bellchant interrupted them by starting the fights. Malfoy threw a few jinxes, which Harry all dodged, before throwing his own spell. He felt a sudden stinging hex and yelped. He quickly cast _Titillando_ , which made the Slytherin start laughing. After a few seconds, Malfoy destroyed his concentration and he got free of the tickling hex.

Suddenly, a spell which was not meant for him – at least he hoped so – and definitely didn't come from Malfoy hit Harry’s chest. He tensed up too quickly, his wand fell out of his hand and he was suddenly surrounded by… something.

For a while he couldn’t see anything, he couldn’t hear anything. He had no idea where the sky was and if he was even standing on the ground. All of his feelings about being lost, unloved and outcast came rushing in. He felt like a freak, being called a freak and boy again.

It was back. The yelling, the spells hitting people, children. He saw them all again. The dead bodies on the floor, Remus, Tonks… Fred. All his mistakes. He heard people calling out his name, he needed to die again, save the Wizarding World again. Where were his friends? He needed to say his goodbyes… He couldn’t continue. More spells were being said. More people fell to the ground. Harry saw Tonks’ determined look. Wasn’t she already dead? He looked around but didn’t see her corps on the floor. She was going to fight, nothing he could do against it. Remus was there, saying how proud he was of him, how his father would be so proud. And then he died.

Everything was suddenly under a blanket of thick, grey fog. He couldn’t see anything. A loud scream, sharp pain in his head and he felt people tearing him around. Was he dead? Where was the battle?

Harry tried to reach for his wand, he needed to defend himself! He probably just had to hide and wait until the fog was gone… Panic settled in. What was happening? Where was everyone? Could he get out of this? He needed to find his way out of the fog, back to the battlefield. His heart was racing, his mind drew blank all of the sudden, his breath increased and at the same time, it felt as if he wasn’t getting enough air.

Out of the blue, he heard it. He heard the voice that guided him back through the fog, through his mind until he could see again. It was only one word, but it was the right word. _Calinours_. It guided him home, to the only person who could bring him out of his current state of mind. The only person that made Harry feel like he had a place to go to.

When Harry opened his eyes again, he lay on the floor, surrounded by his best friends, two or three other students and Malfoy, who was so close to him, he could smell the roses and pine trees, and kept whispering this one word into his ear. Harry took one deep breath and sat up slowly. Hermione immediately pulled him into a hug and he felt Ron, hugging them both. Harry saw the concerned looks he got from the Neville, Hanna and Fay as well as Bellchant. He slowly turned his face towards Malfoy, who carefully assessed him.

‘Thank you’ he mouthed and the Slytherin have him the smallest of smiles, before getting up and leaving the room. Harry didn't want him to leave. He needed to be close to him, to feel his heartbeat, like he had when the blond wizard had held him close, while he was breaking down. He couldn't say this, however. It wouldn't have made sense to anyone anyway. And maybe he would have embarrassed the Slytherin...

Once Hermione let go of him, he asked his friends what happened.

“Zabini threw some kind of old spell at you. It apparently forces the person to relieve some sort of personal drama” Hermione explained. “Professor Bellchant had him walk to McGonagall immediately.”

“It was scary!” Ron interrupted his girlfriend. “Rumor has it that there’s no counter spell. If you get hit with it, you have to go through it. A lot of people get stuck in there, which is why this spell’s actually not allowed.”

Neville truly couldn’t stay quiet as well. “There’s a part of St. Mungo’s that’s reserved for people with those kinds of problems. Apparently, it can melt your brain until only that memory or whatever is left. It’s terrifying being there!” 

Harry nodded. Yes, he understood how one could be stuck in there and how it could be scary. He would have been trapped there as well, probably for all eternity, if it hadn’t been for Malfoy showing him the way out. How could he save him again, just like that?! If he wasn’t feeling anything for Harry… why would he do something like that?

“By the way, what was Malfoy telling you, do you know?” Hermione asked curiously.

Harry felt goose bumps over his arms and tried to ignore them. He debated if he should tell them. However, he’d rather have this between the two of them. “I don’t remember” he lied and rubbed his head, which was still hurting. “I just know that, suddenly, I woke up here on the floor.”

“Whatever it was” Ron pondered loudly. “It must have been pretty powerful to bring you back to this side of life, not stuck inside a terrifying memory.”

They had a double DADA, but Bellchant, seemingly still upset and emotionally impaired, let them go as soon as Harry was back on his feet. Hermione pulled him to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey took a good look at him, but decided he was good to go and he apparently had hit his head. The only thing she did was that she made him drink a potion. As soon as he did so, she let him go away anyway.

Meanwhile, Ron’s face had darkened extremely. He looked as if he was about to tear someone into pieces and Harry knew exactly who that certain someone was. 

Before anyone could speak, however, said person was suddenly brought into the Hospital Wing by the Potions professor. Harry frowned and followed how Madam Pomfrey put him onto a bed, away from Slughorn’s care. When he turned around, he saw Malfoy limping into the Hospital Wing as well.

Harry shook his head. He definitely didn’t want to know what the Slytherin did, but seeing Zabini with a broken, bloody nose, probably a few broken ribs and his face twitching in pain was enough for his mind to show him what could have probably been happening.

“Malfoy, what happened?” Hermione asked and led him to a bed next to the one Harry was currently sitting on.

The Slytherin groaned with pain and coughed quickly. Madam Pomfrey was next to him and assessed him just as quickly as he had done with the other man. She healed his ankle and was gone for some potions.

“So?” Hermione asked again and raised an eyebrow. Apparently, it had the desired effect, as he started talking.

“I followed him and told him not do something like that ever again” he explained and inhaled sharply. "Okay, maybe I did more that _tell_ him that he shouldn't try and attack Potter. But he needed to be stopped."

Harry looked at him carefully. As if he felt his gaze, the Slytherin raised his head and smiled at him. It was clearly meant to be an encouraging smile, but the pain that was still flowing through the other man’s body made his smile crooked and painful.

“Well, seeing that, I do not want to be on your bad side” Ron said and looked over to the Slytherin, yelling at Madam Pomfrey, who was just fixing his broken nose.

“You did this for me, didn’t you?” Harry asked quietly, while Hermione and Ron were arguing if whatever they saw was a good thing or not. His excitement went through the roof. Malfoy attacked someone for him! To keep him safe!

The other man blinked slowly and smiled. “No one should be able to do something so horrendous and get away with it. He already dueled you once before and this action gave you two weeks’ worth of detention. I wasn’t going to let him…” the Slytherin hesitated, but finished his sentence eventually. “…hurt you. I’m pretty sure nobody in this school would be sad about what I did.”

Harry watched Malfoy shrugging nonchalantly. Before he could ask another question, McGonagall walked in and looked over the few attendees in the Hospital Wing. She ignored Zabini, who had started yelling again, probably to get some attention and stopped in front of Harry’s bed.

“I have been informed about what has happened and I will detract the detention I have given you, Potter.” She turned to look at Malfoy. Before she could say something, however, Hermione stood between them. Harry was just as surprised as the Slytherin, who was now being protected by his friend.

“Professor McGonagall” she started. “Please don’t punish Malfoy for what he did! If he hadn’t done it, Ron and I definitely would have been searching for Zabini and maybe…”

The headmistress interrupted her speech. “Please do not finish this sentence. You, Granger, are the head girl; I will not allow violent actions between my students.” Hermione still wasn’t moving and even a stern look from McGonagall, which would have made Harry move aside without further questions, led to nothing.

“Miss Granger” she started again. “If I let an act of violence like this one slide, just because we all happen to agree with Mr. Malfoy, there will be more violence, which I refuse to stand behind. Malfoy will have to serve detention, no matter what everyone else says.”

Hermione reluctantly stepped aside. Harry was touched that his friend was actually defending the Slytherin.

The headmistress stepped in front of Malfoy, who looked at her with big eyes. He was clearly worried about his punishment. When McGonagall started talking, it became apparent that she intentended to punish him quite severly.

“As you realize, Mr. Malfoy, I have to report back to your probation Auror. Any act of violence will end said probation.” Harry almost jumped from his bed. She couldn’t do that! Why would she decide to destroy his life even more than it already was?! Was he actually supposed to go to Azkaban, because he had done something for him? “However, I will do no such thing, if you agree to work off some hours in here. Madam Pomfrey could use the help and it might help you to learn how to keep your temper under control.”

Everyone who heard this was surprised. McGonagall was actually giving him yet another chance! Harry exhaled quietly and thanked her silently.

“I… This… Thank you” Malfoy stuttered. “How long do I have to work here?” he asked as soon as his mind had started working again.

“Until Christmas break. After that, I’ll assess you once more. If I see you’ve changed, the punishment will stop. You will stay here for all your free periods and free time. If there’s something you would like to do, such as visiting Hogsmeade, you can come to my office and ask for permission, which I may grant together with Madam Pomfrey. Are we clear?”

The Slytherin nodded and Harry could see his facial expression relax. Harry was incredibly thankful for McGonagall’s nice verdict.


	40. Sorry, did I catch you at a bad Time?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weekend's approaching and Harry's not looking forward to it.

With the weekend approaching, Harry wasn’t so sure he was looking forward to it. Hermione was going to visit her parents again and Ron decided to go with her. That would leave him alone with the marauders – big shocker. It would, however, also leave him to check up on Malfoy. And everyone in the castle knew he needed to be protected from Zabini.

Right after McGonagall had left and the two Slytherins were good to go, the raging dark skinned man attacked the other one. Harry, Hermione and Ron had reacted instantly, everyone yelling another jinx or protection shield, which threw the attacker all the way down the corridor. Malfoy, who had probably assumed that the drawn wands were considered for him, winced at the spells. Since he wasn’t hurt, he had turned around and seen the other man on the floor.

Ever since then, Zabini had been hiding in dark corridors, behind open doors and around corners to finally get Malfoy. The students had started walking closely to the Slytherin – well, everyone except the Slytherins who had still decided that he needed to be punished, especially for attacking one of theirs. There was always at least one member of the D.A. around him, even Ginny took time out of her busy day to be helpful and protect him.

Harry knew it annoyed Malfoy incredibly. But if this was what was needed to keep him save, he was happy with what was happening. Now that the weekend was approaching, the people were less careful and they had all sorts of stuff planned, since the snow hadn’t arrived yet.

On Saturday, when Hermione and Ron were finally gone, Harry had placed the marauders in the Shrieking Shack and was just about to get lunch, when he heard tumult in one of the lesser known corridors.

He was sure that some Slytherin had grabbed another first year and wanted to show them why Slytherins ruled this school, when he turned the corner and saw those damn three girls and two boys attacking Malfoy. Zabini was nowhere to be seen and Harry realized rather quickly that this was his plan all along – if he wasn’t seen, no one would think he was behind everything. Everyone knew he was behind all the attacks against Malfoy, but there was no proof.

“Let him go!” Harry yelled down the corridor, which made the girls stop kicking the man on the floor, but the boys grabbed their wands and were just about to throw a jinx, when Ginny appeared behind Harry and threw her typical bat-bogey-hex.

Harry walked closer. They had apparently gotten Malfoy really bad, as he was bleeding and he could see some bones not looking right. The five students were already gone, but Ginny was after them. Harry levitated Malfoy off the ground and brought him to the Hospital Wing in no time. Madam Pomfrey said nothing, when he arrived with the Slytherin in tow. She simply started healing and mending broken bones. Harry wanted to stay, but the mediwitch made him leave, saying that he wouldn’t wake up for another day. She had given him some kind of potion, so he wouldn’t get up and try to leave.

So, Harry went looking for Ginny, hoping that she hadn’t killed those two boys she was racing after. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find her and ended up simply grabbing food for the marauders and heading back to the Shrieking Shack.

There, he walked in on them discussing the texts on the Chocolate frogs. He stopped behind the open door and decided to listen what they had gathered so far.

“Oh, come on! I finally got a card with Harry Potter and the only text is _The Boy Who Lived_!” James yelled out in frustration and Harry could even hear him rolling his eyes. “That’s the thing we already knew!”

“Yeah, well, I got about ten cards of Dumbledore and there’s nothing on them I haven’t seen” Sirius answered.

Harry could hear another card being placed on the floor. “I think those Harry Potter cards were just old. Here’s one for Hermione Jean Granger and it explains… something.” Remus sighed. “It’s written there. The name of that bad man is written there, but we can’t see it. It’s that damn spell McGonagall did!”

Sighing, Harry entered the room with all kinds of food. He saw them quickly hiding the cards, but as Remus looked at him it was clear that he had already heard them talking. He placed the food on the floor and decided not to question them about what they were doing. They hadn’t figure out Voldemort’s name and that was something at least.

“You took some time, did something happen?” James asked interested and a little worried as well.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Malfoy’s been attacked again. I brought him to the Hospital Wing.”

Remus smirked a little. “You like him, don’t you?”

“What?” Harry felt heat rushing to his face. “Well, yeah, we’re friends. I also like Hermione and Ron and even though I don’t know why, I like you guys” he grinned, hoping that the redness was gone and he wasn’t making it too obvious.

“Right” Sirius grinned and rolled his eyes.

“You’re always around each other” James added grinning as well.

Harry sighed and glared at all of them. “If you keep talking about this, I’ll never bring you food ever again.”

“Oh, come on!” Sirius laughed. “It’s adorable!”

“There’s also a rumor that he helped you through the _somnum exterreri_ spell! Not that many people can do that” Remus added. “Only special people.”

Harry felt like he needed to scream at them to let him in peace. However, they would never do that. “That’s the name for that nightmare thing Zabini threw at me, right? How do you even know about the spell?”

“The ministry decided to make it illegal a few months ago – at least in our time. So we heard a lot about it in the Prophet” James explained. “And I think you two’d make a gorgeous couple.”

Harry glared at his father who simply grinned at him. “Well, it’s decided then. I won’t bring you any food anymore and if you ever do something half legal, I’ll tell McGonagall.”

“Oh come on, mate!” Sirius called out. “He didn’t mean it!”

“You always say that, yet, you never face any consequences” Harry narrowed his eyes. “So now, here are your consequences: If you ever need something, go talk to Hermione or Ron.”

Even Remus wasn’t happy with how things had turned out as he tried to talk Harry out of this. Honestly, he felt a little bad for Remus, since the only people clearly taunting him were James and Sirius, but he wasn’t going to discuss his crushes with them. He was, however, moved by how little they cared about his sexuality.

It was extremely weird to talk to his father, who was supposed to be discipline him, like that. As if the roles had reversed and yes, in a way they actually had. He was older than his father… Harry sighed. He probably shouldn’t think about this too long, since it could really melt his brain!

So, when he walked back up to the castle, he decided to visit the owlery. He hadn’t been up there for quite some time, considering he had spent most nights of September and October there. When he tried to remember why he had suddenly stopped going there, he remembered the game Malfoy had played with him one night and how it had ended in him going to therapy. He suddenly stopped. Hadn’t he also won a point? It was a little late for this, though. Maybe he could tease Malfoy later with it.

Before walking to the owlery, he went by the Hospital Wing to check up on his former nemesis and found him sleeping. He looked peaceful and happy. Even though Madam Pomfrey had put him into countless bandages and there were hundreds of potions on his bedside table, his face was relaxed and he was breathing evenly. There was even a faint smile on his lips, which made Harry feel light and also happy, though he couldn’t explain it himself.

He quickly snuck back out of the Hospital Wing, especially since the mediwitch had told him not to come back until tomorrow, but he just wanted to make sure that Malfoy was okay. Once he entered the owlery, Luna’s owl jumped in front of his feet. He smiled and grabbed a treat out of his pocket which he quickly threw at her, so she wouldn’t attack him. Satisfied, the owl hooted and settled down at a window sill. Harry chuckled and saw his own little owl.

“Hey, Abra” he smiled and as if his owl had been waiting for him to call his name, he flew at him and sat down on his shoulder. “I sadly don’t have a letter for you to bring someone.” Harry felt how Abra was a little disappointed, but snuggled closer to his head. He petted his owl and after a while, he jumped off his shoulder.

Harry climbed up a window sill and looked outside, just when Abra came back and sat on his slightly cocked leg. He gave him a treat and continued petting him, which the owl greatly enjoyed. After a few moments, the door opened and James and Sirius walked in with obvious guilty faces. Harry was sure that Remus had something to do with that.

“Harry, we want to apologize” James said and looked at the floor.

“We were definitely out of line and it won’t happen again” Sirius added.

Harry grinned. “I accept your apologies but I don’t think it won’t happen again. I was serious about…” he narrowed his eyes at Sirius, who probably instinctively wanted to add something. “About not being your servant anymore. Just because you’re not supposed to know what happened in the last few years doesn’t mean you can’t do things on your own.”

James and Sirius nodded as if Harry was their father and gave them a lecture. They looked at the owl on Harry’s knee who had his eyes closed, obviously enjoying the petting and the closeness to his owner.

“That’s a cute owl” James said and looked closer. “Did you choose it, because it reminded you of you?”

Harry smiled and petted the owl’s cheek. “No, I actually got him as a present. The original owner didn’t want him anymore, so I took him.”

Now Sirius came closer and smiled at it. “What’s his name?”

“Abra” Harry was sure he shouldn’t say his full name, seeing that both of them were purebloods and they would probably think Harry was about to kill them. Not even Hermione knew Abra’s full name.

“Strange name” James said. But he didn’t ask for more, since Harry simply shrugged his shoulders. “But a hell of a cute owl.”

Abra hooted approvingly and showed his wing span, which wasn’t that impressive, but Harry laughed at his ego and wanted to cuddle his owl for it.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the Shrieking Shack, doing homework, researching for McGonagall on Time Turners and talking about unimportant things. When night finally came, Harry realized that he hadn’t kept any Dreamless Sleep Potion around. Too scared to try and maybe sleep with nightmares, he grabbed a book and snuck into the Hospital Wing. His Invisibility Cloak was still hiding all the newspapers, so he couldn’t really wear it. Still, with the help of the marauder’s map, he arrived at the Hospital Wing without being seen.

*

Malfoy woke up around lunch time the next day. Harry was sitting on the chair in a weird fashion: his legs dangling from one arm of the chair, while he was leaning on the other one, skimming through a complicated looking Herbology book. At first, he hadn’t even realized Malfoy being awake, but after some minutes he raised his head, feeling watched, and saw a grinning Slytherin looking at him.

“What?”

The blond wizard chuckled and closed his eyes again. “You just have no manners, do you?”

“Hey! No one was here, you were asleep… I can sit and do whatever I want to!” Harry said, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, that’s called _having no manners_ , Potter.”

“Whatever, Malfoy.” They shared an amused look, before Harry turned and placed his feet on the ground again. He placed the book on his bedside table and assessed the Slytherin. He looked definitely better, rested and happier. “How are you feeling?”

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, I guess. Did I send another Patronus for you to find me? I thought they took away my wand…”

“No, they actually did that. McGonagall got it back, though. I was going to grab some lunch and heard some Slytherins attacking someone. I thought it was a first year and wanted to help them.”

“So noble, Saint Potter” Malfoy commented, but stopped talking after Harry looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“The girls stopped attacking you, the two boys then wanted to attack me, but Ginny actually started fighting them. I haven’t found those Slytherins, they were still missing at dinner and Ginny won’t tell us what happened to them” Harry explained. Malfoy was listening with wide eyes. It was clear that he had no idea what to do with this information. “I brought you here and Madam Pomfrey gave you some potions so you would sleep through most of the healing process.”

It was quiet for a while; the Slytherin seemed restless, working his fingers over the blanket. Before Harry could ask or say anything, he started talking again. “Don’t you have somewhere else to go and be with someone?”

Harry frowned and played with the sleeve of his long shirt. “What?! I have no idea… Why would you ask that? I think it's important I'm here.”

Malfoy eyed him skeptically and apparently decided not to answer the last question. “How long have you been here?”

Harry was okay with the change of subject. He really didn’t know what he should say to the blond wizard anyway. “A few hours” Harry lied. Though, he saw immediately that the Slytherin didn’t believe him one second. So he rolled his eyes and told him the truth. “I may have stayed the night.”

“McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey didn’t throw you out?”

Harry chuckled and rubbed his forehead. “They would have probably thrown me out if they’d found me.”

Malfoy rolled his eyes, he didn’t seem annoyed but rather amused. Just that second, Madam Pomfrey walked in and saw the Slytherin awake. She shooed Harry outside to start and look at his charts if the man in her care was able to be released. Harry sat down on the wall outside, leading to the Hospital Wing and started to skim through his book once again. He was definitely not going to let him walk through the castle alone.


	41. Time for some Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's being followed.

The weekend was over rather quickly, since Harry was worrying about Malfoy almost all the time. He hadn’t brought the marauders any food, they settled that of their own (he only gave Remus food, since he couldn’t really leave the Shrieking Shack).

So when Monday started and Ron and Hermione were back, it didn’t surprise Harry that the time went by so fast. The two Slytherin boys still hadn’t shown up and Ginny wasn’t going to talk any time soon. Malfoy had sat next to Harry almost all day long, but when Harry decided to look after Remus and help him with some research, he left the Slytherin behind.

If he wanted to be back when his therapy session started, he needed to be quick. So, he jogged through the halls, only stopping to walk slower when he heard or saw someone. He made it quickly to the Whomping Willow, where he poked a knot in the trunk and slit down into the secret passageway. He arrived at the Shrieking Shack fairly easy and called out to let Remus know he had been here and not someone who had accidentally found the entrance. He found his former professor on the floor of a small room reading the big book Harry had opened first when he had wanted to read up on Time Turners.

“You know, Neville apparently read all of it and thought it was utter rubbish” he said grinning.

“Well, I don’t believe it, if I haven’t read it on my own” Remus answered half absorbed into the book. Harry placed a small box of food in front of the werewolf and watched him stare at it in surprise. “I’ve already eaten!”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I know. The others said they ‘accidentally’ ate your dessert on the way here, so I brought you something that’s not already half eaten.”

Remus laughed and grabbed the package. He opened it and found something he liked. Harry sat on the floor Indian style and opened the satchel he had brought. There were about ten books inside all about Time Turners and time travel. Harry had already read six of them and wasn’t really looking forward to the rest of them as they were much bigger than the others.

“How are your classes?” Remus asked between bites and watched as Harry took out a book titled _Time Travel: Future or Fiction?_

Harry smiled. “Quite okay. I enjoy Potions much more than I thought and Transfigurations is getting incredibly interesting. Other than that I hate that I thought I could keep up with Herbology.”

Remus laughed and shook his head. “Well, why did you take it, if you’re not happy with it? I remember James once saying that he…”

They were both interrupted by something falling to the floor in the bigger room. Harry was on his feet in a matter of seconds, Remus as well. Harry pointed to the door and the werewolf understood immediately, hiding behind it, while he snuck to the entrance of the room. He was just about to stupify the person in the shadows, when Malfoy walked out.

Harry’s mind started racing. How much did he hear? Did he recognize Remus’ voice? Why was he here? How could he have come inside? Nothing made any kind of sense. With all if this going on, he had completely forgotten about him pointing his wand directly into the Slytherin's face.

“Do you mind lowering your wand?” Malfoy asked with raised eyebrows. Harry did so wordlessly. But soon enough he’d found his voice again.

“Why are you here? What are you doing?”

The Slytherin walked closer. “My question would be… what are _you_ doing here? Another secret place to meet an admirer?”

“What? No! I… I wasn’t meeting anyone!”

Harry really wished he sounded sincere, but the look on Malfoy’s face let him know that he didn’t believe a word he was saying. He looked past the Gryffindor and saw food on the floor as well as some books.

“I heard you talking with someone, though. The only question I’m having is: Who are you talking to?”

Harry wasn’t about to answer that question. He really only wanted Malfoy to leave, to maybe even obliviate him, so he’d forget what was going on. Of course, he couldn’t do that. The Slytherin seemed to understand, that he wasn’t getting an answer and looked at Harry almost in the same way he had looked at him for the past seven years. It hurt Harry deeply to see him reverting back to hating him.

“Are you maybe talking to someone called ‘James’?” he asked with a cold, icy voice. Harry was just about to say something else, when another voice called through the shack.

“Yeah! James is in the house! Who called my name?!”

Harry rolled his eyes and face palmed. Of course they were here. Of course they had chosen this instant to walk in. He could even hear Remus huffing behind the open door. Malfoy frowned and turned towards the entrance of the shack, where two figures appeared.

Sirius was still sporting the short, silver hair and strange facial features of Simon Boot, but James had clearly had enough of the Polyjuice Potion – which normally wasn’t such a big problem, since no one would ever walk into the Shrieking Shack who didn’t know them (or how, to be honest). But he had his famous black hair back and as soon as they both saw Malfoy, they stopped dead in their tracks.

Harry sighed rather frustrated and rolled his eyes. “Great call, James. Next time, why don’t you shout it from the Astronomy tower? That way everyone’ll hear your real name!” he commented dryly.

He turned and walked into the room, Remus was occupying. Malfoy still stared at the two students he could see, but was then focused on Harry again. As soon as he spoke, the coldness of his voice was gone.

“Real name?” he asked narrowing his eyes. “So, what are their real names?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” James said and opened his satchel in a hurry, undoubtedly looking for the Polyjuice Potion, before he would transform into his real self.

Malfoy assessed the boy, who was now kneeling on the floor, digging through his belongings. Suddenly he looked up at Harry, his eyes wide in shock and when he turned back to his father, Harry was sure that he was trying to see some similarities.

“You… You’re James… Potter, aren’t you?” he asked visibly shell-shocked. “How is this possible?!” he asked and turned to Harry, who was hiding his face in his hands.

James had a guilty look on his face, while Sirius obviously bit his tongue, so he wouldn’t slip up and reveal something stupid. Remus was still hiding behind the door, making no sound whatsoever. Malfoy finally walked into their room, reducing the distance between both men.

“Potter, what’s going on?” he asked. His voice was much softer than before and he looked genuinely worried. Harry let his hands fall down and bit his lower lip.

He sighed again. “My father, well… My father apparently wanted to see what life was like ten years from where they started, but the Time Turner didn’t work properly, so they ended up here. McGonagall gave them all an almost believable back story and made us all promise not to tell them anything about what happened to them up until now.”

Malfoy was still frowning but turned around. In that moment, Remus moved slightly and Malfoy yanked the door back. Harry could see his face fall as he recognized their past professor.

“Professor Lupin?” he asked and Harry let out a frustrated noise, which made Malfoy look back and forth between Harry and an obviously surprised Remus.

Sirius came running in and fell around Remus’ neck. “Did you hear that?! You’re going to be a professor!”

James slid into the room as well, sitting down in a corner and opening the bottle of Polyjuice Potion. Malfoy seemed to be really surprised and looked again and again between all the different people inhabiting the shack. He then stopped at the man with silver, blond hair and assessed him carefully.

“And who are you? I doubt Simon Boot’s your real name…”

“Sirius Black! I’m Harry’s future dogfather!”

"As in... my cousin Sirius Black?!" Malfoy frowned (just like Sirius) and was quite obviously about to ask about the last word, when it hit him. He turned around to look at Harry. “So much for a normal school year, huh?”

Harry chuckled softly and rolled his eyes. He felt like a mountain fell from his heart, he was so happy that Malfoy now knew what was troubling him. Even though he didn’t want to admit it, it had troubled him extremely.

“Okay, so if they came here with a Time Turner, why don’t you just send them back again?” he asked and looked around the room. James had finally taken a sip of that potion and turned back into a ginger boy, Remus had grabbed the dessert again and Sirius leaned at the entrance of the room, looking a little smug.

“Their Time Turner’s broken and all the other ones are… well, we destroyed them” Harry explained a little quiet.

Malfoy immediately realized what he was talking about. “The battle at the Ministry!” Harry’s gaze flickered over Sirius and he nodded sadly. “I’m sorry, Potter” Malfoy said gently.

Harry smiled at him and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s fine. So, yeah. We’ve been trying to keep them uninformed about what happened in all of the years since they left their normal lives, but it’s not really going as well.”

“Who knows about their real identities?” the Slytherin inquired.

Harry frowned, trying to think of everyone that knew that secret, when James started counting them all. “McGonagall, all of the professors, Hermione, Ron and Harry” he stopped and looked at the Slytherin. “And now you, obviously.”

Malfoy turned again towards Harry, still frowning, but definitely processing what he was hearing. “That means, when you were saying ‘James is in Divination’ you were slipping up and revealed your father’s real identity?”

“Yeah” Harry sighed, sat on the floor Indian style and smiled slightly. “We always talked to them with their real names, when no one else was around and I think that’s what tripped me up.”

James once again started talking and Harry softly shook his head over his father’s enthusiasm of… explaining what was going on. “Well, James is also just better and nicer than Julian. I mean, come on! There are a thousand names for men with a J! And McGonagall goes for _Julian_!”

The Slytherin snorted which made Harry laugh and he shook his head. “You would have liked any name better than Julian?”

James nodded vigorously.

The Slytherin grinned and Harry saw his eyes sparkle with mischief. “How about Jacques? That would even go with your fake back story of having lived in France!”

Harry’s father clearly wasn’t happy with how things turned out and soon, Sirius and Remus were laughing on the floor and Harry shook his head. Malfoy walked to him and sat down on the floor, next to him. This action surprised him extremely. Wasn’t the Malfoy heir supposed to have enough manners not to sit on the floor? On the other hand: all of the chairs and things were broken, so the floor was the best option.

“And how are you doing with them here?” he asked quietly. Luckily, none of the laughing or scowling marauders had heard him. Harry simply shook his head as a sign not to ask him that right now. He knew that if he was talking about them with Malfoy, he would probably end up having another breakdown and that really wouldn’t work if he was in their company.

As if the Slytherin had read his mind, he stopped asking questions and watched as the marauders slowly gained back control over their laughs. 

Harry explained what they had figured out so far about the Time Turners, handed the man next to him the book about Time Turners, which had helped him extremely and said, that now, since he was part of the only people who knew the truth, he was going to research things with them. Malfoy didn’t seem all that bothered and opened up ‘Useful Knowledge about Time’, while the marauders started on their homework and Remus grabbed this huge, not really useful book again.

The time flew by and Harry suddenly remembered that he needed to go to therapy. So he bid goodbye and as he got up, Malfoy followed suit. Before Harry could say anything about it, the Slytherin raised his eyebrows, daring him to talk him out of it, so he ignored it.

“Well, I’m off. By the way, how come you guys are here? Shouldn’t you have a double in Charms?” Harry asked after he realized that they were here way too early.

Sirius grinned. “Of course! But maybe Flitwick had some problems with flying objects!” he wriggled his eyebrows until James hit him with a book.

“We were off earlier, because…”

“You decided to charm all sort of stuff to fly around, got it” Harry interrupted James, who had definitely tried to come up with an excuse. Malfoy watched this interaction with a slight grin on his face and when Harry walked out and into the passageway, he followed him.

They walked in silence to the Hospital Wing, where Harry realized that Malfoy should actually be in there and help Madam Pomfrey. So he asked him, if he wasn’t getting in trouble following him around.

The Slytherin simply grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “Madam Pomfrey gave me a free day, today. No one’s in the infirmary and she doesn’t expect anything to happen. And if there was something happening, she’d call an elf to get me.”

Harry nodded. That did sound reasonable. “And she was okay with giving you a free day within the first week of detention?”

“Well” Malfoy’s grin grew wider. “Apparently, Pomfrey didn’t like what Zabini did and she thought McGonagall’s punishment was a little bit too harsh, so she said she’d give me working hours during which I should be in the Hospital Wing, but other than that I was free to go.”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Okay, I see. You can get out of any detention, now, can’t you?”

“Pretty much. As long as it does not involve Hagrid and we’re not in the Forbidden Forest, looking for unicorn blood!”


	42. He’s having quite a Time…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco needs some answers, after he realized Potter was hiding his time traveling father and friends.

While Potter was with Angelica, Draco sat at his usual place, which he had vacated after learning that there might have been another man in the Gryffindor’s life. That man turned out to be his father…

Jealousy wasn’t really what Draco had in mind, but when Potter mentioned someone called James and his expressions seemed to be so… different, he couldn’t stop thinking that maybe it was too late for him. Too late for them to at least start trying.

When he woke up on Sunday and saw him sitting on the chair, idly browsing through a book, he’d been surprised, but it warmed his heart knowing that he was there for him even though there might have been a James looking and waiting for him.

The thing he needed to do was find out how Potter was dealing with his father and friends being there. Weasley and Granger already knew, but they were always gone during the weekends, which made Potter the only one dealing with the… time travelers. How he wasn’t a mess all the time was a big secret to him. All of those three boys were dead by now, the last one being Lupin and Draco knew that Potter had a special connection to all of them.

Maybe those two times he had caught the hero losing his mind had been those situations where he just couldn’t handle it anymore. Or maybe he was thinking too much about all of it. Maybe it was also the war finally getting the best of him.

Draco didn’t even have time to look at the book lying in his lap, he was so immersed in his thoughts, that he didn’t hear a certain Savior sitting down next to him. He almost jumped, when the man started talking.

“You look like you’re having a hard time believing something” he said and Draco raised his head, smiling slightly.

He shrugged his shoulders. “To be honest, hearing and seeing that your past’s here… That still blows my mind.”

Potter laughed and Draco felt proud to be able to make him laugh. After what happened; him being lost in this damn _somnum exterreri_ spell, which he was still mad at Zabini for using against the Golden Boy and then, being attacked and saved once again by the all mighty hero; it was a hard week. The new week had started quite hard as well, seeing the similarities between James Potter and his son had wrecked his brain. Before he could ask anything, Potter started talking.

"Did you know that Zabini actually snuck into Angelica's office and read my file?" 

"Hold on, he... what?" Draco shook his head and huffed. Of course this idiot was trying everything to get to Potter. How did Angelica even find out about that?! 

"Yeah. Apparently, he had come by and asked if he could get her as his Mind Healer and when she had to leave for whatever reason, he started looking around in her cabinets and found my file. He didn't know it was mine, but she wrote down all this information about my backrgound and it's not that hard to figure out who _Patient 14_ is." 

"Salazar's snake! What now, Potter?" 

Potter shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know and I don't care. He didn't get to read all of it, as Angelica threw him out. It was apparently still enough to rile me up..." 

"He's an idiot. We both know that." 

They sat there, looking down the corridor, leading to the Hospital Wing and quietly enjoying each other’s presence. After the longest time, Draco finally turned to the Gryffindor and decided he should ask the question he had asked in the Shrieking Shack.

“How are you doing with them here?”

Potter smiled weakly. Draco could see the pain hiding inside and didn’t understand how his friends could leave him alone all the time. Yes, it was _his_ past, but that didn’t mean he had to go through it alone!

“Some days are better than others” he said truthfully. “If they start digging through information or asking too many questions, it gets harder though.”

Draco nodded. He couldn’t even imagine how he must be feeling. None of the people most important to him were dead, the only relative that he got to know better was Bellatrix and it was unlikely she’d be travelling here and asking questions. Maybe if Snape did it, that would be weird.

Potter cleared his throat and leaned back at the wall. “James forgot a name” he said quietly. Draco was confused first but remembered that Potter’s father had explained all the people that knew they were here. He didn’t want to pressure him into talking, so he stayed quiet. “Angelica knows as well. I couldn’t keep it from her, she knew something was wrong and I don’t think I could have stayed with her if I kept lying about what was bothering me.”

“But you lied to me.” That came out of his mouth before he could think about it. He quickly turned his head and stared down the corridor. Why did this always happen when he was around Potter? It was like his brain ignored the normal order to overthink stuff.

Potter was quiet as well, but he could feel him looking at him. After a minute or two, he sighed and closed his eyes. “I lied to everyone. I lied to Ron and Hermione, saying I wanted them to concentrate on Hermione’s parents and that I was okay with looking after _them_ alone. I lied to McGonagall, saying I was okay after she made me follow them into my memories of the war. And yes, I lied to you and I’m terribly sorry about that. But there just never was a way to tell you. And would you even have believed me?” he looked at Draco and once he turned to face the Gryffindor, he could see pain in his eyes.

He wanted to put an arm around Potter and hold him close, tell him that everything was going to be okay and that he wasn’t mad at him. He probably wouldn’t have believed him anyway if he’d just told him about that.

However, he couldn’t do that. Instead, he smiled and shook his head slightly. “No, I wouldn’t have believed you.” He was suddenly quiet, thinking about what the Gryffindor had just said. “Wait, McGonagall made you relive your war memories?”

Potter simply nodded and rubbed his forehead. This made Draco incredibly angry. How could she think that was a good idea?! He died in the war! He faced the Dark Lord and died! So many people he loved died during the Battle, how could she think it was a good idea to throw him back into that scenario?!

“You should really start to breathe again, Malfoy” Potter said, looking at him with a small smirk on his face.

“How did you not have a breakdown after that!? I mean… even for me, those were the worst moments of my life. How can you just sit here, nonchalant, talking about what happened there?! You… You died in the Battle of Hogwarts!”

Potter’s smirk changed into a warm smile and he hesitated, before turning away. Draco felt him move an inch closer – or maybe it was just his imagination.

“I had a breakdown, Malfoy. You found me on the floor and held me close, not willing to let me go, even though I begged you to” he confessed. He turned his attention to his shoe laces and started opening them, to tie them again.

Draco remembered that night. He had only wanted to bring a Potions book back and get another book for Herbology, when he came across Potter, sitting on the floor, tears all over his face and shaking as if he’d seen an angry ghost. He couldn’t just let him stay there and it hurt to see him like that, so he pulled him into a hug, keeping him there until he was feeling better. He smiled at the memory, since even though it probably wasn’t such a good one for Potter, it felt right to hold him close. “Oh.”

“I want you to promise me something” Draco started, looking at the man next to him very seriously. The Gryffindor nodded to make him go on. So he took a deep breath and just said what was going through his mind. “If you ever feel close to a breakdown again, please, come and find me.”

He didn’t really know why he had said that, but it made him feel better to know that Potter was in good hands, should he lose control over his body. However, the other man didn’t seem to be convinced and Draco could see his hand moving to his arm, undoubtedly trying to release pressure.

He quickly pushed the hand away and provided the Gryffindor with a raised eyebrow. It luckily made him talk, Draco didn’t know what he would have done otherwise.

“I… What if you’re with friends? I don’t want to disturb…”

“Doesn’t matter” Malfoy answered truthfully.

The Gryffindor hesitated. “But… I really don’t want the others to… to find out I’m breaking down. It’s not happening that often anyway and…”

“Potter” Draco interrupted him before he could talk himself out of it. “Everyone breaks down from time to time. If you don’t want the others to know, just tell me _aide-moi_ , it’s French for ‘help me’.”

“I might not need it anyway…”

Draco narrowed his eyes and glared at Potter. He was not going to accept him not coming to him if he needed help. As if the bloody Gryffindor had read his mind, he smiled weakly.

“I promise to come find you, if I feel like breaking down. But what if I don’t find you in time?”

“How about sending a Patronus? I mean, it can’t be that hard, right?” Draco suggested and was surprised, when Potter started laughing and shook his head.

Once the Savior had stopped laughing he explained why he thought that was so funny. “I’m not sure if I can find a happy memory, when I’m about to fall into a deep pool of bad ones…”

Draco couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. “Yeah, I realize I hadn’t thought about that. In that case…” he placed his index finger on his lip, thinking about what they could do then. “What if we agree on a hiding place? Where I could find you if you’re not in class or whatever.”

Potter seemed to be happy about that and nodded. He apparently also had an idea of where this place could be. “The secret room we use for potions and stuff like that?”

Draco grinned. That made a lot of sense. No one knew it existed and if the Gryffindor was falling apart, he could hide there fairly easy.

*

Draco used the rest of the day to slightly tease Potter, just enough for him to never really get annoyed, but shooting back playful stabs. During dinner, he told his friends that Draco now knew about his father and friends.

Weasley shot him a worried glance, but Granger smiled at him. “About time!” she remarked smiling. Neither Draco nor Potter knew what she meant with it, but neither was going to ask her. After all, it was Potter’s friend, so he should ask her.

They finally spent another private potions lesson in their secret room, creating a hiccupping potion, which Draco recommended they put into Zabini’s drink in the morning and got some genuine laughter from the Golden Boy. Potter was making quite the progress, even though they hadn’t had a private lesson for about two weeks now.

While Draco watched the other man clean the place and cauldron, he started brewing his own patch of Dreamless Sleep and let it brew over night. Once they were up in their room, he gave Potter his daily dosage of his potion, when his nickname accidentally slipped out.

“There you go, calinours.” He turned around quickly, so the Gryffindor wouldn’t see his shocked face. As he turned around though, he saw Potter with a slightly heated face, quickly jumping into bed and closing the drapes.

He chuckled silently and climbed into bed himself. If he always reacted that way, what would the Gryffindor do, if he called him calinours during a lesson or lunch or really just anywhere? He really wanted to find out and was looking forward to Herbology tomorrow.

Potter was a no show during breakfast, probably eating with Lupin in the Shrieking Shack and maybe even avoiding him. However, when Herbology started, it just so happened that Sprout was placing them on tables with different houses. Draco shared a table with Potter and, on the other side of it, Longbottom and one of the Patill girls.

They were caring for three plants each – analyzing what was wrong, looking for the right treatments and providing them with an appropriate spell. Longbottom was happy whistling to himself, while Draco could see Potter about to throw a tantrum. He was still working on his first plant and it looked like all the analyzing he was doing did nothing to the plant. There was a book about this exact plant on his table, but he seemingly had forgotten about it.

Draco leaned over and quietly said “Page three hundred and twenty six, calinours.”

He watched with glee, as his former nemesis’ face turned red and he grabbed the book, slightly shaking. Grinning, he turned back to his own Valeria and finalized the treatment list.

While they all finally finished the lesson, Draco decided not to overdo the game he had started and ignored his desire for calling Potter teddy bear for the next two lessons. He decided that only in their last class would he use the nickname again. The Savior was clearly missing again at lunch, quite obviously avoiding him.

The next time, it was so he could get more distance between their works and so he could finish faster. No one said he couldn’t use something he knew about the other wizard so he could win a race… 

Draco sat next to Harry on purpose, it even got him another look from Granger, but he didn’t really mind. He was sure that Potter didn’t mind as well – or maybe he did, but it seemed to be helping him. He was practically glowing after Herbology, a class which he usually hated.

So when they were repeating how to create legs on teapots, Draco leaned over to Potter, grinning at the other man’s sudden tense body language.

“Don’t you dare, Malfoy” he whispered before Draco could say anything.

He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re talking about” he said. Potter relaxed a bit since he hadn't used his name, but it wasn't over for Draco. And so, he added the thing he always wanted to say. “Calinours.”

Potter glared at him as if he was hoping that would scare him enough to stop calling him that in the future. Draco only grinned at him, proud to see a little bit of red coloring his cheeks.

“You really are the worst, Draco Malfoy!” Potter hissed and turned to focus on his task. Apparently this hadn’t destroyed his concentration.

… Maybe a second time would do the trick…

“Hey, at least I’m not the one being flustered when called…”

“Don’t! I don’t care what you say to me, we have a lesson here!” the Gryffindor interrupted him and Draco could see how he stared at the teacup, trying hard to ignore him. It made him grin.

“If you don’t care what I call you, why don’t you just let me call you that?”

Potter closed his eyes, clearly focusing on the task of creating legs for his teacup. Draco smirked and whispered very quietly “Calinours”, which broke his concentration completely and almost broke his teacup, as well as the color of his face. He looked really handsome that way and Draco turned to his teacup unable to hide his grin, having added some legs in a matter of seconds.

Flitwick praised him and he could feel the death glare to his left, but couldn’t stop grinning. When they left the room, he walked behind Potter and his friends and Granger seemed to have realized that something was going on that wasn't all that normal.

“What happened with your teacup? It almost exploded!”

Potter rubbed his forehead and shrugged his shoulders. “Guess I didn’t revise well enough…”

“Mate, it’s a simple spell! It’s what fifth year students have trouble with!” Weasley said shaking his head. “Are you sure there’s nothing else going on? Did you have some problems with… I don’t know. Did it remind you of something or…”

“Ron, I’m fine!” Draco could basically hear Potter rolling his eyes. He was clearly annoyed, but what surprised him the most was that he was not going to talk about what Draco did. However, before he could think more about it, he had to go to the Hospital Wing, working off his hours.


	43. Another Time, another Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets surprised by something Malfoy did and the 8th year plays a fun little game over Christmas.

“Concentrate, Harry!” Susan scolded him again and again.

Harry rubbed his forehead, staring at the Slytherin in front of him, working away with the rather complicated instructions that were written on the board. They had to create this potion and find out what it was and what it did.

However, Harry couldn’t focus. So many things happened after he realized that he might have actual feelings for the blond wizard, that he never really had the time to analyze if he felt the same. Right now, all he could focus on were the blond strains of hair which were loose and sometimes falling into his face, this broad shoulders and the way he leaned over the ingredients carefully. Well, during a potions lesson was probably not the right time to try and examine all the different actions Malfoy had done. His partner, Susan, was already annoyed by his lack of concentration. It was about the fifth time that she scolded him for pouring too much of some kind of liquid into the cauldron.

Surprisingly, they still managed to end up with a potion that Slughorn was happy about. So now they were supposed to figure out what it did. Harry felt like he was back in first year. Nothing made sense and everything he discussed was destroyed by Susan, who apparently already knew what they were dealing with.

Needless to say, he was incredibly happy when the lessons ended. He didn’t just only want to get away from the class but also Malfoy who seemed to inhabit his mind as of lately. Their discussion after his therapy session was amazing and Harry knew that he had slipped up calling him calinours that night. Being a Slytherin, of course he had continued calling him that and actually almost destroyed his sanity. Not that he had anything against it. If it turned out that he was going to marry Astoria after all, Harry at least had some adorable memories to look back at.

In his free period before lunch, he had decided to study in the library – Hermione would be proud, if she knew. He knew he shouldn’t be hiding from his best friends, yet… he still did. He sensed that she knew something about his feelings towards the Slytherin and was definitely not about to confirm anything. Not to her and not to anyone else.

Harry opened a book about the different ways to analyze potions – which was the topic he had picked for a short essay they had to write for next week. Suddenly, three books were dropped next to him and as he looked up, he realized the person he had been trying to avoid sitting down next to him.

“There are other free tables around here, Malfoy” he said, but couldn’t keep a smirk off his face. Of course he was wondering why he didn’t just sit at a free table but with him.

The Slytherin shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, but there’s only one table occupied by my favorite Gryffindor.”

“Ha!” Harry turned back to his book, trying to ignore what the other man just said. He definitely didn’t mean it the way Harry would interpret it, anyway. And… his face might have gotten a little warmer than before.

It was quiet for a while, when Malfoy placed a book in front of him. Harry startled a little and looked at the title. ‘The Time’s Servant’.

He raised his head and looked at the Slytherin frowning. “What’s that?”

“A book I found, which I think would be quite helpful” he answered and smiled. “It’s a story between fiction and theory. Basically, what happened to you, happened to the author as well.” He pointed to the name on the book. Jessie Appleton. Harry had never heard of her and didn’t know what he should say, however, Malfoy wasn’t finished. “Her older brother died in World War Two, but travelled to the future by accident – he was an Unspeakable before the war. So this book deals with what happened to him and how he dealt with everything as well as what she went through. I really think you should read it.”

Harry didn’t look up from the book, but he could feel the other man’s gaze on him. He bit his lower lip and thought about what to say next. “I don’t… I don’t think I should read fiction. I need facts, so I can send them back and…”

“Potter, it’s breaking you!”

Still not looking up, he focused on the book cover, which had a picture of a Time Turner that was half fading away and half clear, a beautiful peacock feather and sand on the floor, next to a broken hourglass.

Malfoy didn’t stop trying to convince him to read it. “Listen, there are six other people researching things! Seven, now that I’m in on the secret. You can afford to read a book that’s not only theory, but actual help!”

What should he do? He didn’t want to confront his emotions about his father and friends being here and this book looked like it was all about emotions. He couldn’t deal with this: There were fears that he didn’t want to confront or even think about. Yes, it was easier to read hard facts, look at pictures of Time Turners and compare them to what he saw. Figuring out how to fix what the marauders broke.

“I... I don’t think I should do that. There are hundreds of useful books, I’m sure and…”

Malfoy shook his head, not even slightly annoyed, even though Harry would have liked that, so that he would leave him alone. “You need help from someone who knows what it’s like. So, I took the liberty and wrote her a letter asking if she would meet with you.”

For the first time since the Slytherin placed the book in front of him, he looked up. “You did what?!” Why would he do something like that?!

The blond wizard smirked slightly. “Well, you see: You weren’t going to do anything about it. I know your friends think you’re fine since they never actually saw you breaking down. The rest of the school thinks you’re enjoying a normal year. Not even McGonagall knows that you’re in pain. I couldn’t just sit here, pretending I don’t care. So, yes. I wrote Jessie Appleton. She’s sixty nine years old by now. She was sixteen when her brother died and twenty four when he appeared in the future.”

He smiled at Harry’s confused look. “Don’t think I’d just give you a book I’ve never read. So, I’ve sent her a letter telling her about a friend of mine who’s in a similar situation and asking her, if you could meet sometime soon and talk about what the problems were and everything else.”

“Why?”

Malfoy frowned and raised an eyebrow. “Why what?” he asked.

“Why would you do something like that for me?” Harry explained his initial question. His heart was racing. He couldn’t understand why his former nemesis would go out of his way to help him. Well, maybe there was a glint of hope that he did this, because his feelings for him were the same, but Harry really didn’t want to believe this.

“I care about my friends, Potter. And I do consider you my friend.”

Harry looked back at the book and was torn between reading it and tossing it aside, telling Malfoy to mind his own business and that he was fine. However, the last part would probably just keep him around longer, since he seemed to be able to look right through him.

He flexed his hand and turned the book around to read the text on the back of the cover. The other man next to him seemed to be happy that he even touched the book, since he turned to the other two books he had with him. Harry had to admit that the book did sound good and helpful and maybe meeting with Jessie Appleton would help him even further. However, he hated to admit that Malfoy was right and that his idea was amazingly genius.

He sighed and rubbed his temples. “Okay, so when do we meet?” he asked quietly.

The Slytherin grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I’ve sent the owl yesterday evening; I don’t know where she lives and how long the trip’s going to be.”

Harry nodded. “Just tell me when you get a response.”

*

This evening was another silent agreement for all eighth year students (except Zabini) to have a secret meeting. The marauders were in the Shrieking Shack helping Remus through his hard time. Harry sat on an armchair, reading the book Malfoy had given him and which turned out to be absolutlely fantastic, Hermione and Ron were playing some sort of weird four-player-chess, where you worked with another partner, against Dean and Seamus. The couch was abused by Millicent, Hanna, Padma and Parvati who were discussing the future and job opportunities while working on each other’s hair. Five people were playing Exploding Snap on a table and Neville and Malfoy were discussing the flower problems, once again. It was a quiet and beautiful time, until Justin ran in and called for attention.

“We just had an amazing idea!” he called out and everyone stopped what they were doing. Some people, who had been talking with him, walked to the banister and stood behind him “We learned today that the Muggles like to play a game around Christmas time that’s called Secret Santa.”

Most purebloods frowned, but everyone who had heard of it was getting excited. Harry wasn’t sure how he should feel about it. He had never been part of Secret Santa, and depending on who he would get, it could end up really bad.

“So, I think we should play Secret Santa for us! Here’s how it works: We write down our names on a piece of parchment, throw it into a hat, then we shuffle it, everyone takes one and you’re the Secret Santa for that person, which means, you’re giving them presents over Christmas time.”

There was a short silence, followed by almost twenty six people talking. Some were calling out and questioning things, while others were talking excitedly and how they always wanted to do something like that. Harry only understood three questions that were being asked.

“How many presents?” Neville asked.

“How expensive do they have to be?” Fay frowned.

“What if I want to give them a Christmas present anyway?” Sophie wondered.

Justin had apparently also heard them and looked around the room surprised. He raised his voice to answer and everyone settled down again. “Er… I think we’ll do it like that: You give two or three presents in December and on Christmas you give the last one, which should also explain who their Secret Santa is. Maybe an inside joke or a letter next to the present. How about that?”

“How much, Justin?” Fay repeated her question. “I don’t want to spend hundreds of Galleons, when someone else is just buying sweets from Honeyduke’s.”

“I think, don’t spend over ten Galleons” Ernest answered instead of Justin. Everyone seemed to be okay with what they had said. So they quickly wrote down their names, Ernest walked around with a hat and collected the parchments, then walked around again and let everyone choose one. He had apparently charmed it, so that you could never get your own name.

Once he walked by Harry and he grabbed it, he hesitated before opening. What if he had Terry? Or Megan? He didn’t know much about them… He slowly opened it and exhaled happily.

> _Neville_

That he could do.

Actually… he already had an idea for the inside joke present on Christmas, though it would probably cost a little more than ten Galleons. Well, he just had to pretend it didn’t cost that much and maybe make cheaper gifts during December. It was the second of December, which didn’t give them a lot of time to figure out what to give, yet still enough.

He was a little curious as to who got his name. Maybe it was Neville and they were gifting each other something, or Hermione or Ron. They would have an amazing time. Or maybe it was someone he hadn’t really talked to.

There was a little bit of hope that maybe, just maybe… his name got chosen by Malfoy. It would have been fun to see what he would come up with for presents and things. Maybe the first present would be a shirt as a joke for him to start dressing better.

He quickly shook his head and stuffed the parchment in his pockets. His mind was presenting him with ideas and he wasn’t even sure if they were helpful. If Hermione had gotten his name, he’d probably get a few books about DADA, since as far as McGonagall’s concerned, he’d start teaching in two years. He hadn’t really told Hermione or Ron that he didn’t really want to come back after the eighth year. And Ron would probably buy stuff from George and gift those, which was always a lot of fun.

Small groups got together and started talking and theorizing and undoubtedly talking present ideas. Harry joined Hermione and Ron. They were both talking about their names, which meant none had the other. Once Harry sat close to them, they showed him their cards.

Hermione got Millicent and Ron drew Malfoy or rather Draco.

“Who did you get?” Hermione asked quietly.

“Neville” Harry answered grinning.

Ron smiled. “If you would have told me at the beginning of this school year, that I’d be okay with gifting Malfoy stuff for Secret Santa, I probably would have killed them.”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Remember how you didn’t even want to be in the same dormitory as him?”

Hermione gave Ron an affectionate kiss, which made Harry look into the fire rather quickly. Yes, Ron had grown to accept Malfoy, however, he hadn’t accepted that he was still alone and now, that he realized that he had feelings for a certain blond haired wizard… he wasn’t sure what to do with himself.

As he looked over to the Slytherin, he saw him staring at him. Though, he quickly changed his facial expression and gave an encouraging smile, which Harry returned. There were worse things than to be in love with… _No!_ No, he was not in love with Malfoy! He simply… he simply had a crush on him. And the things that were worse, for example… were being chased by a wand-wielding sociopath who killed your parents and decided to kill you too…


	44. Life is short and Time is swift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's full moon, Harry asks McGonagall about the status of the Time Turner and decides to play some Quidditch.

Tonight was full moon. Thankfully, Remus was feeling better than last month. He still didn’t want Hermione, Ron or Harry visiting. They respected his wishes, though they weren’t sure if the marauders wouldn’t use this time to theorize and think of ways to find out what was going on with the war.

Hermione was off in whatever class she took next to the five Harry and Ron were taking with her. The two of them decided to visit McGonagall again and ask her how the Time Turner problem was going, since they hadn’t heard anything really for about two or three weeks.

Just as they were about to knock on the door, it opened and Zabini walked out. Harry stepped back immediately. Not because he was scared of him, but because he really didn’t need another duel where they were both fighting each other. In front of the headmistress' office, no less.

The Slytherin glared at them, but walked away eventually. McGonagall seemed to realize that something was going on and stepped outside her office. “Everything alright, Potter, Weasley?”

They nodded and walked inside. Harry really wanted to ask the headmistress, why Zabini was in her office, but he felt that she probably wasn’t going to answer that. As long as it wasn’t concerning him at least. He hoped that that idiot had gotten into a huge amount of detention for attacking him with this forbidden spell. He also wondered why Zabini hadn’t been expelled yet. Maybe it was exactly was he thought: there was not enough evidence that he was behind all the attacks on Malfoy and that stupid spell he threw at him was the first time he visibly did something bad.

“Professor McGonagall, we were wondering about the status of the Time Turner” Ron started and smiled at the headmistress.

She sat down behind her desk and sighed. “Kingsley has no idea how to fix what is broken. He has asked some of the best wizards and witches around the country for help. The only problem is that Voldemort saw them as a threat so most of the truly amazing practitioners died during the war. He has now reached out to famous wizards and witches in France and all the allies we have, to ask for help. He doesn’t expect anything to happen for the next ten days” she explained.

Harry sighed. If he was a child, he’d be throwing a tantrum. How was it that of the marauders broke something, it stayed like this for hundreds of years?! They left her office again, heading to the Quidditch pitch. A little bit of flying would surely ease the sorrows. Especially since it was that cold. That meant the cold would overpower all the overthinking.

Apparently they weren’t the only ones who thought that way. When they arrived, having fetched their brooms first, they met Dean, Seamus, Fay, Sophie, Lily, Millicent, Sally and Terry.

“Hey guys! Do you want to be in our teams? Do you want to play a little bit of Quidditch again?” Fay called as she saw them approaching. Harry didn’t have to look over to Ron to know that they were so going to be part of a small Quiddich team.

“How do we play? We’re short a few players” Harry said smiling.

Terry laughed. “We’re playing without Bludgers. So we have two Seekers, two Keepers and now six Chasers.”

The teams were divided into Fay, Dean, Terry and Sally against Seamus, Sophie, Lily and Millicent. Harry grinned. That sounded like something he would like.

“So, who needs a Seeker?” he asked and laughed when both teams screamed for him to be their teammate. He looked at Ron and shrugged his shoulders. “You can choose which team you want, I’ll join the other.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “Thanks, mate. Just so you know, we’ll win this!”

He walked over to Dean and Fay, which meant Harry joined team two. They walked to their ends of the field and talked about their strategy. He was going to play Seeker, no one wanted this position. Sophie, Millicent and Seamus were going be the Chasers, while Lily hoped she wasn’t walking into any trouble, hiding as a Keeper.

When they flew into the air, Harry walked over to the box with all the balls inside and opened it. He looked to Ron’s team. Unsurprisingly, he played as a Keeper. Dean, Fay and Terry were the Chasers, while Sally was his personal opponent. Harry let the Snitch out first, which rushed off and was gone rather quickly. He then picked up the Quaffle and threw it high in the air, with a little bit of magical help, before he quickly mounted his own broom and the game started.

Harry felt rather excited playing Quidditch again. He flew higher than the normal game, watching the others play for a second, but also keeping an eye on Sally, just in case she’d see the Snitch.

Millicent just knocked the Quaffle out of Fay’s hands and right into Sophie’s arms. “Go!” Harry screamed and jeered laughing when Sophie shot the ball at Ron. It didn’t matter that Ron got it and started another attack. It was a certain freedom, Harry felt. He had no problems, life was okay and he felt free and powerful on a broom.

His attention was suddenly drawn to Sally moving around, but he relaxed as he saw her searching look. She hadn’t seen the Snitch and rather decided to start searching for it. Harry looked back at the game. Fay and Dean worked expertly together. They tricked Seamus with a fake Quaffle toss and Fay threw it towards Lily, who squeaked and moved away, not to be hurt by the ball.

Harry smirked a little, while Ron and Fay cheered loudly and Dean made a wandless incantation for some firework. This was going out of hand pretty quickly.

“Sorry!” Lily called and grabbed the Quaffle again.

Millicent flew closer and patted her back. “Don’t worry, Lils! Just give it your best and we might win after all!”

She grabbed the ball and threw it towards Sophie, who started flying towards Fay exceptionally determined. In fact, she wasn’t going to slow down and almost crashed into her, if the other girl hadn’t dodged her. Seamus followed her and soon they were fighting the others.

They played for quite some time and Harry didn’t remember how many fireworks had happened. Seamus and Dean let them loose even when they didn’t score a point or when the other team scored. He hadn’t seen the Snitch in ages, and was suddenly questioning if he had even released it – though he knew he had. Just then, he saw the Snitch flying after Seamus. He saw how Sally had fixated him and decided to not race behind it. Sally was closer than him and he had no idea how good she was.

He hovered higher and closer to the centre, where he suddenly dove into the field, Sally right behind him. She had seen the golden ball as well. They zigzagged through the Chasers, when the Snitch suddenly fell to the floor. Harry basically flew a right angle and was now steering directly to the ground. Sally wasn’t following him, apparently it looked too dangerous and truth be told, Harry had no idea how to get out of his death trap, but he needed to catch the Snitch. He heard cheering, probably another goal, when he reached out, grabbed the Snitch and turned his broom around so he was hanging on it upside down. He didn’t do it fast enough and landed on his back rather hard. But… he had grabbed the Snitch!

Before anyone could say anything, they some called them back to reality. “Nice catch, Potter!”

Harry got up arduously and looked to his left, where Malfoy was standing, leaning against the wall. Harry's heart made a sudden jump; his hair was extremely loose and hanging slightly over his eyes. The Slytherin grinned and looked back up to the other players who flew in and just landed at the floor.

“Hey, Draco! Why didn’t you want to play?” Millicent called him out and laughed.

He simply shrugged his shoulders. “I had to work.” She seemed to realize why he didn’t want to play or more likely was unable to play. Before she could say anything, though, he started talking again. “I’m actually here to tell you, that you might want to come back inside and eat lunch, since you lot missed Herbology.”

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and looked to the others who were either surprised or grinning (which probably meant they had missed Herbology on purpose). Lily, Sophie, Sally and Terry started running back up to the castle. Seamus and Dean cleaned up and stowed the balls back into the box, before following the people who really wanted to eat or were just extremely embarrassed. Fay brought the box to its rightful place and Millicent tugged Ron with her. Within a few seconds only Harry and Malfoy were left.

“What…?” Harry looked around rather surprised that it didn’t take so long until everyone was gone. Malfoy on the other hand only chuckled and shook his head.

“Need a hand, Potter?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “No, thank you, Malfoy. I can carry my own shit.”

“Never doubted you couldn’t.”

Harry grinned and threw his broom on his shoulder. When he walked by Malfoy, he joined him and they walked to the castle.

“Are you looking forward to the lessons today?” Malfoy said, slightly grinning.

Smirking, he shoved the Slytherin from the path. He took a few steps almost stumbling, before he returned to his original place.

“I doubt Bellchant will be doing anything practical in the next few weeks” Harry smiled to himself.

Malfoy laughed. “Well, if he is, he’d probably throw Zabini out, before anything happens. Did you hear that he only got four weeks’ worth of detention?!”

Harry nodded. “Yes, that’s because it’s the first thing he visibly did. McGonagall can’t really punish him for something no one saw him doing. And all the attacks on you, they were probably concocted by him, but those idiotic Slytherin girls just keep doing whatever he says.”

Suddenly, he realized Malfoy almost staring at him. When he turned towards him, he saw a flabbergasted wizard.

“What?”

“You… you realized that?” the Slytherin asked.

Harry laughed, but it was most certainly not a happy one. “Of course, Malfoy. I’m sure the whole school knows.”

He saw how the other man looked down to his feet, with a ghost of a smile on his face. Did he miss something? Why would it make him happy, that Zabini would concoct attacks against him?!

Once they entered the Great Hall, without saying a word, they walked towards the Hufflepuff table, where the eighth year students were apparently eating today. There was almost no space on the table, but Millicent pushed Ron to the other side and told Hanna and Neville who were sitting on her right to make more space. Harry ended up next to Ron and Malfoy, who sat next to the other Slytherin.

“Have you heard that some stupid writer for the Daily Prophet wrote an article about the top ten places to visit if you want to experience the best war stories?!” Neville swore and showed them the newspaper.

Harry couldn’t believe his eyes. It hadn’t even been a year! Who would even want to live through the memories of war again?! He checked the list and almost laughed out loud.

> _There are some people who are looking for the best way to pay tribute to what the war destroyed. Here are the best places for unforgettable war stories._
> 
> _Place 10: Hogsmeade – A place we all know from our days at Hogwarts. Shortly before the Battle of Hogwarts started, Harry Potter and his friends apparated to this place and alerted the resident Death Eaters. However, they were saved by Dumbledore’s brother._
> 
> _Place 9: Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts – There are rumors that Lord Voldemort was hiding in the Forbidden Forest while his followers attacked the protected school. It is unclear what happened between the Boy Who Lived and Lord Voldemort, but when the hour of peace was up, he walked towards the school with Harry Potter pretending to be dead in the half-giant’s arms._
> 
> _Place 8: Malfoy Manor – Caught but transformed by the brilliant Hermione Granger, The Golden Boy was being held at Malfoy Manor. Rumor is that the Malfoy heir recognized our hero, but did not call upon Lord Voldemort, thus saving Harry Potter._
> 
> _Place 7: The Ministry – The place we all know very well. We all remember when Dumbledore fought Lord Voldemort right in front of the eyes of everyone. The Department of Mystery is sadly also the place where an unfortunate accident took place. Namely…_

Harry skipped that part and went straight to

> _Place 6: Lovegood’s House – Having paused their travels, the Golden Trio stopped by the Lovegoods, where they were ambushed by Death Eaters. In a stroke of genius, Hermione Granger hid Ronald Weasley, who was supposed to be at home, sick, and showed the Boy Who Lived to the Death Eaters to keep Mr. Lovegood safe._
> 
> _Place 5: Grimmauld Place 12 – It’s still unable to be seen, but we all know where it is located. Still protected as the former headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, it is astounding that it still remains standing. The place once belonged to the aforementioned Sirius Black, who left it to our beloved Savior Harry Potter._
> 
> _Place 4: Privet Drive 4 – The place where our famous Golden Boy grew up. It is owned by his aunt and uncle, both Muggles and highly unable to cooperate with the Wizarding World. He lived there until he was of full age._

Harry started laughing and only just barely skimmed the rest. Place three was the cemetery, then came Hogwarts and of course Godric’s Hollow.

“Why are you laughing?” Malfoy wondered and frowned at him.

Harry shook his head. “Oh, I can’t believe they got the address of where I grew up! They’re going to freak out if wizards keep coming to gawk at them.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My aunt and uncle, they hate everything that has something to do with magic” Harry pointed to the place four. “On Hagrid’s visit, when I was eleven, he gave my cousin a pig tail. The next year, I was saved by a flying car. Third year, I blew up my other aunt and she literally flew away…”

Malfoy burst out laughing and looked at him as if he didn’t believe he was telling the truth. Harry only shrugged his shoulders. “Fourth year...” Harry frowned. What happened then?

Ron leaned in and added what he had forgotten. “We wanted to get Harry for the Quidditch World Cup and got stuck behind their fire place, so we exploded the wall to get out. It was amazing!”

“Hold on, you did what?!” Malfoy clearly stopped believing what they said.

Harry chuckled. “It’s true. And Fred and George gave my cousin something sweet that made his tongue grow.”

Ron almost chocked on the meat he was eating, he was laughing so hard. The Slytherin on the other hand seemed to have forgotten all about his food.

“Fifth year, my cousin and I got attacked by Dementors and I was expelled from Hogwarts and while they were gone, I was basically abducted by Mad-Eye Moody and other people from the Order. Not that they’d cared anyway. Sixth year was a little quieter, Dumbledore came and picked me up, but they were really scared of him.”

“Who wasn’t?!” Malfoy rolled his eyes.

Harry smiled. “And well, in seventh year, the Order made them leave the house and go into hiding. And now, the Prophet revealed their secret safe place. Wizards will be storming their house and try to find out as much as they can about where I grew up. They’re going to freak out!”

“Hey, you know what…” The Slytherin started thinking out loud, “what if we’re one of those wizards, staring at them for a day?!”

Ron and Harry laughed loudly and Harry didn’t even care that people were looking. Though he knew, he would never visit Privet Drive ever again.


	45. At this point in Time, anything can happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry buys the very first Secret Santa gift and Remus is back.

Remus was back. He must have accidentally hurt himself, as he was staying in the Hospital Wing for the day. Harry kept him company. There were two reasons for that. Number one was, because he needed someone to be there and keep him sane or whatever. Number two was more selfish… Malfoy worked there Friday afternoon and he was caring for the werewolf. And maybe, maybe Harry wanted to spend as much time around him as he could.

The Slytherin was very good with Remus, helping him with all his problems. And Harry had to admit that he could definitely see him as a Healer.

Even though he didn’t want to leave Remus (and Malfoy), Harry decided to go down to Hogsmeade and find something for Neville. So he decided to enter the Herbology shop. For now, that was an easy choice; he didn’t want to keep making Herbology presents, though. But most people knew he liked plants, so it was a good start. His eyes fell on a bunch of rocks, but he kept looking for something he would be able to gift. Suddenly, a very helpful woman stepped closer.

“May I help you?” she asked smiling.

“Well, yes. I’m looking for something special for a friend of mine who loves plants” he explained and woman led him back to the rocks he had seen first.

She gave him one and Harry was surprised by its softness. “This is a Lithops. They’re living stones from Africa. They avoid being eaten by pretending to be rock. If you have a knack for botany and Herbology, they blossom four times a year: around Christmas, when the first flower blossoms, once during summer and when the first snow falls. Otherwise, they’re just normal flowers and blossom with the rest.”

Harry was fascinated. That sounded amazing! Neville would probably like them as well. “Is there something special you have to do so they’re blossoming?”

“Yes” the woman smiled. “But nothing extraordinary. They have to be in contact with actual rocks and the very best way would be a constant water flow. That way, they’ll surely blossom by Christmas time, even if you have no idea what you’re doing.”

“I think I’ll take it” Harry looked down at his hands, where the little flower stone was still laying.

The sales woman smiled. “We also have a starter kit for the Lithops. You get a few rocks, a glass tank with a charmed water flow and a few crystals, so you have something to look at and not just plain stones.”

Even though he really didn’t want to go overboard, it sounded pretty good and Harry ended up buying three Lithops with the starter kit. This was definitely more than what he would have bought for the first present, but who cared! It was their last year and Neville should have something amazing to look at.

Luckily, he made it through Hogwarts without running into anyone. In his room, he checked the marauder’s map and saw that no one was in Neville’s room. So he grabbed everything and walked up to his room. It was pure chaos. No one of the four inhabitants was really neat and it made everything look like a bomb exploded inside. Harry had, however, no problem recognizing Neville’s bed. It was surrounded by plants and books about Herbology.

He placed the marauder’s map on his bed and kept checking it, so that no one would disturb him. Then, he opened up the glass tank, threw all the rocks inside and carefully placed the three flowers inside as well as the crystals. As soon as he closed the top, the water started flowing. It looked amazing and Harry smiled to himself. Just then, he saw Seamus entering the Common Room and he jumped up, grabbed the marauder’s map and was gone in a matter of seconds.

When he entered his own room shortly before dinner, Malfoy was sitting on his bed and looked up. There was a hint of fear, but if disappeared when he saw him.

“Where did _you_ go?” he asked and smiled.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I was working on my Secret Santa. How’s yours going?”

Malfoy rolled his eyes. “You already have a present?! How can you be so organized?”

“Hold on, I’m organized? I thought you were supposed to be the one who’s organized!”

They both grinned. The Slytherin closed the book he had been reading, Harry immediately recognized the title. It was the Time Turner book he had recommended. “So, who did you get?”

“Oh, um… Neville! And you?”

“Megan” the blond wizard answered and rolled his eyes. “I might need your help.”

This made Harry laugh loudly. “Malfoy, I do not know everything! I have no idea what you should give her!”

“Yes, but you already have a present for Longbottom. Maybe you can help me with this!” Harry bit back a smirk, when he saw the pleading look, the Slytherin was shooting at him. “Please!”

He held up his hands in surrender and laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll help you. But maybe you should ask some of her friends in the dormitory first.”

“Great idea!” he grinned, but turned back to his book. Harry shrugged his shoulders and opened up the marauder’s map again, checking where Neville was.

At dinner, Harry sat next to Neville, hoping that he was going to say something about the Secret Santa gift. Malfoy smirked at him, but sat down next to him, not saying anything. Luna, Ginny and a few other seventh year students were also sitting near them. Luna and Neville had been in a rather deep discussion, but once Neville saw Harry and Draco sitting down, the Gryffindor started talking about his present immediately.

“Hey Harry, did you hear that I already got my first Secret Santa gift?”

“Really? What is it?” Harry was proud of his surprised voice. He felt a small shove on his left and grinned at Malfoy for a second.

Neville didn’t see anything; he was way too deep into his enthusiasm. “Have you heard of flowers that look like rocks? They’ve been approved for importing a few days back and I’ve always wanted to have one, now I have two! I think. It’s hard to see them with all the rocks, but it’s amazing!”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Flowers that look like rocks? That’s a little weird.”

“If they blossom, they’re real flowers – I think. We’ll see.” Neville grinned broadly. Harry smiled. He had made the right call. “Did you get something already?”

He shook his head. “No, but I don’t really care. People always think they know me and the presents show that they don’t really know me at all. I think in my life I had maybe three presents that were amazing. Maybe four – I don’t remember” he chuckled at Neville’s surprised look.

“Really? But you always told us that you loved Christmas presents?!” Neville frowned.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Well, my aunt and uncle never gave me real gifts. I think I once got one sock or something like that. Then, first year at Hogwarts, I got a lot of sweets and the traditional Christmas Sweater from Molly – which I still adore. And of course my…” Whoops. No one here knew about his Invisibility Cloak. Well, Malfoy did, the rest might suspect something, but no need to throw it out there. “I don’t know. After that… It’s always kind of the same. Sirius and Remus once gave me a whole series of defense books, which was amazing at the time, but now… I don’t know.”

They sat there quietly eating dinner. Harry was happy that Sirius and James stayed in the Hospital Wing for dinner, so he could talk about their future without them knowing anything about it.

Neville turned to him after a few minutes. “Okay, so if you could choose anything in the world… What would you want for Christmas? Or from your Secret Santa?”

Harry started laughing. “Why? Do you need some ideas?”

“No way, Harry. My Secret Santa’s Lily. Do you know something she’d like?”

“Why does everyone think I can help with presents?!” Harry huffed, but grinned shortly after. “I have no idea, Neville. For my gift, however…”

“How about a book full of theories about the Boy Who Lived?” Malfoy offered and Harry could see how he tried really hard not to laugh about his suggestion. “I’ve seen it around Hogsmeade, though I have no idea how the author knows that many theories about you to write a book.”

The person who did laugh was Neville. He almost choked on the water he was drinking and swallowed it quickly before laughing so loud, people were turning around to look at them. If they’d had this discussion in the Common Room, where not that many people would see or hear them, Harry would have glared at the Slytherin, but now he simply rolled his eyes.

“Sadly, I don’t think that’s the worst Christmas present I’ve ever gotten” Harry answered and grinned. “I guess I’d go for something Quidditch related or so.” Malfoy and Neville were both smirking and they all resumed their dinner.

*

Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep Remus inside the Hospital Wing for one more night. He was drinking his Polyjuice Potion again, so it looked like the original student was back. James and Sirius protested when Harry grabbed them to return to the Common Room and accused him that he didn’t know what friendship meant. That he never tried to stay overnight and that he didn’t know how much they would do for Remus.

Harry wasn’t going to argue. They thought he was such a goody two shoes? Well, okay. Why not? In addition, if they’d known that he had spent the night in the Hospital Wing twice, over Malfoy no less, they would only make fun of him…

“Hey, Harry. I have a question” James said shortly before they reached to Common Room. Harry turned around, clearly expecting his father to ask something about his future, when he was surprised by something else. “What happens to us at Christmas?”

“What do you mean?”

James hesitated, but answered eventually. “What if we can’t go back by then? Do we have to stay at Hogwarts? And if not, where should we go? I don’t think we can just go… home or something.”

Wow. He hadn’t thought about that. “I… I don’t know.” Everyone stayed quiet for some time, until Harry started talking again. “Let me ask McGonagall what she thinks would be best for you and I’ll write some letters, once she’s willing to let you stay somewhere out of Hogwarts. Unless you want to stay here…”

“Nope” Sirius rolled his eyes. Harry narrowed his eyes. He was probably hoping to get some more information outside of the school.

To be honest though, he didn’t know where the marauders should stay for Christmas. He needed to ask McGonagall and as quickly as possible.

Before Harry could walk the marauders, well the remaining marauders, to their room, Ginny appeared as if she was hiding under an Invisibility Cloak and asked for some time. The marauders grinned and told Harry they could walk to their room alone.

Ginny smiled at him and raised an eyebrow. “So, I have two things I want you to know.” Harry nodded and she grinned. “First up, Ron told me who those transfer students actually are. I just want to know… are you okay? I’m so sorry about all this!”

Harry smiled. “Thank you, Gin. I’m okay. It’s hard sometimes, but it’s okay.”

“Got it.” Ginny sighed and shook her head. “If you ever need someone who intimidates them, tell me!”

This made Harry laugh and he shook his head. “Just think about it: Remus getting scared of you and then he grows up and gets to teach you, knowing that in the future you could kidnap Slytherins without getting into trouble. Which reminds me, you probably should let them go. Where do you even keep them prisoners?!”

“That was amazing and I’m not letting them go unless they tell me that they won’t hurt Malfoy anymore.” Ginny laughed and smacked his shoulder. “But I’m serious. If you need help, call me.” He nodded and waited for her second point.

For this, she looked around and when she saw that no one was around, she grinned at him. “A little birdie told me that you have a crush on a certain Slytherin.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Is this little birdie called Luna Lovegood?”

“Probably, yes. And are you going to answer my question?

“I haven’t heard any question.”

Ginny laughed. “Okay, Mr. Do you have a crush on Malfoy? I mean, I also saw you walk around together more often than not, but I just thought you were very good friends. Luna said… something about Nargles, how they behave different when you guys are together and she thought you might be crushing on him.”

“Interesting” Harry commented and frowned. “Well, to answer your question, Madame” he bowed playfully and overenthusiastically. “I am crushing on him, yes. But please don’t tell anyone else.”

Ginny grinned. “Who do you think I am?!”

She winked at him and was gone. Harry shook his head and jogged into his own dormitory. Malfoy was again sitting on his bed, reading a book about Animagi, frowning at some information.

“Hey, man. What’s going on?” Harry asked and closed the door.

The Slytherin looked up and cleared his throat. “Let me tell you, what this book says about Animagi: _To start one’s transformation into an Animagus, one has to keep a mandrake leaf in one’s mouth for an entire month, more precisely from one full moon to another. This leaf will be part of the potion used to create the Animagus. One has to drink this potion during a lightning storm._ ” He stopped and skimmed over some sentences, until he found the one he was apparently looking for. “ _Animagi can take any form. It is highly believed that this form even involves magical creatures, such as unicorns, thestrals and griffins. There are even believers that this form includes Dementors._ ”

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Malfoy. “Dementors?! Who wants to become a Dementor?!”

The Slytherin started laughing, undoubtedly over the face Harry was making. “You’re asking the wrong idiot.”

“On the other hand, you can finally become a real dragon” Harry grinned and winked at the Slytherin who in turn gave him a glaring look, though there was a smile on his lips.

Harry walked over to his bed, still shaking his head over the information he had received, where he noticed a small box on his bedside table. He slowly reached out and frowned.

“Hey Malfoy?” The Slytherin looked up and then to the box in front of him. Harry turned to him and was still thinking. “Did you see who put that thing there?”

The blond wizard shook his head. “For all I know, it could have been Zabini, trying to get you killed or something.”

Harry chuckled and rolled his eyes. He opened it and found a small ball inside. As he took it out, the snow on the inside transformed into Hogwarts. It was so detailed and he even saw an owl flying through the air. It looked suspiciously close to Hedwig.

“What is that?” he wondered aloud. He was already in love with it. It was absolutely beautiful. Malfoy placed the book on his bed and climbed out to get a closer look on what Harry had in his hand.

He smiled as he saw the content. “It looks like a magical snow globe. It transforms into a place the owner really loves, which in your case seems to be Hogwarts.”

“It’s amazing!” He looked at it again and saw the owl flying around the snowing sky. In the box was a small pedestal for the snow globe. He placed the whole thing on his bedside table, where the box had been.

Malfoy sat back on his bed and smiled. “I never would have thought of you as a softy for things like that…”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Everyone likes different things. And I have to say I love the idea of taking a piece of Hogwarts with me, even if it’s just in a snow globe. Plus, the owl inside looks incredibly like Hedwig.”

The Slytherin nodded and looked at the snow globe as well. “I once had one, but when the freaking Dark Lord decided to make the Manor his headquarters, it destroyed my love of the place. The moment that happened, the Manor inside the snow globe fell and it never transformed into anything else. So, I threw it out.”

“I’m sorry about that” Harry said and he sat down next to the other man. “Maybe you’ll find another place to call home.”

Malfoy smiled at him and nodded. They sat there quietly, next to each other, looking at the snow globe on Harry’s bedside table. Suddenly, the Slytherin turned to him.

“So, what are you doing with your father and his friends over the weekend?”

Harry only shrugged his shoulder. “Probably the same I do every weekend: Homework, controlling them, babysitting them, making them read up on Time Turner and time travelling books. Why do you ask?”

“What if… what if we play a game with them that allows them to find out about some things?” the Slytherin suggested.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, those stone flowers Neville gets, they're real. I just added some more magical details to make them work in the Wizarding World.


	46. Having a great old Time… maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weekend is here, which means Ron and Hermione are gone, the marauders are wild and maybe even more drama...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so… this chapter was inspired by JJRenae, who suggested I should write from Sirius’ point of view as a dog.

Sirius woke up and sighed. They had spent too many days in the future. He missed Peter and making fun of Snape. In his days, everything seemed so much lighter. Right now, everywhere he went, he could see people crying, hugging or speaking encouragingly. Not that there was something wrong with the latter, but for a prankster like him, he could simply work better with a fun atmosphere.

This time, with the blond wizard… what was his name again? Macoy? Malfoy! This time, Malfoy had convinced Harry to play a game with them… no wait: three games were planned.

They were rather easy: race through the castle, find what was missing or what they wanted and get back as fast as possible. Moony won the first game and got one minute in a room with Malfoy and Harry where he could ask any questions he wanted to. Of course, Harry put some restrictions to it. It wouldn’t have been fun, if he hadn’t. No questions about their future or surrounding their deaths. Easy.

The second game on Saturday afternoon was far more chaotic. This time, they had to collect signatures from the students (and professors if they wanted). They sprinted through the castle, nearly knocking people over, running after them in full speed and sometimes even forcing them to sign the paper. It got increasingly difficult, as the afternoon went along and when it was five o’clock, Sirius had the most signatures, beating James by one. He was going to rub it under his nose for all eternity!

Once Sirius was inside Harry’s dormitory, he started asking all his questions at once. They had already agreed on what each person would ask. If they wanted to set Harry up with the Slytherin, they needed a good basis.

“If you’d get a tattoo, what would you get and why? When you can’t sleep, what keeps you up at night? What was the hardest goodbye in your life so far?”

Sirius saw that his future godson was a little taken aback; the Slytherin frowned at him, as if he couldn’t believe what they were doing. But they actually had a plan.

“Okay…” Harry narrowed his eyes, thinking. “If I can’t sleep, it’s mostly because of nightmares.”

“What about?” Sirius inquired.

“The war.”

His short answer clearly wasn’t everything. Sirius waited shortly, hoping he would say whatever was going on. However, there was nothing happening. The only thing that made Sirius almost cheer was when Malfoy placed his hand on Harry’s arm, smiling encouragingly. Harry nodded and turned back to him.

“Um, the other question… For a tattoo, I’d probably get a forest, with some forest animals and a few flowers shining in the moon.”

Animals? Like maybe a stag, a wolf, a rat and a werewolf? He couldn’t ask that yet. Even though Malfoy knew their secret, he didn’t know they were Animagi, or at least he suspected it. He could ask about the flowers, though.

“What kind of flowers?” Sirius asked, curious.

Harry smiled at him, as if answering that question would give away something special. “If I answer that, I won’t have time for your last question.”

Sirius shrugged his shoulder. “Then answer my last question, instead.”

“The hardest goodbye was probably…” He wet his lips and Sirius frowned, as Harry looked at him quickly, before turning away. “Dumbledore.”

Well, yes, that made sense, in a way. His minute was over and Malfoy told him to get his friends. However, when Sirius walked outside, he listened to his dog instincts and decided to wait around for a few seconds. So, he stood outside the door, waited and listened.

“It wasn’t Dumbledore, was it?” he heard the other man ask rather softly.

“No. It was Sirius. I didn’t even have time to mourn him right there. He just fell through the… thing and was gone. Up until that point, I was really hoping I could be a family with him.”

Sirius stood there, frozen, until he focused again and walked down to their dormitory, getting James and Remus. _I was really hoping I could be a family with him_ , was ringing through his head. What did Harry had to go through?! How could they not be a family?! He already loved the grown up version of his future godson. He was sure that Harry as a child must have just been the cutest thing ever!

When they all walked inside the other dormitory, after Sirius having told the others what he had learned, there was chaos everywhere. Harry lay on the floor, another wizard had his wand raised and Malfoy just disarmed him.

“What the hell do you think, you’re doing?!” the Slytherin screamed and bent over Harry, shaking him a little. When he looked up and saw the marauders, he called them over to get James’ son to the Hospital Wing.

Whatever the other man did, it knocked Harry out for good. Madam Pomfrey gave him hundreds of potions, analyzed thousands of different things. Things, Sirius had never even heard of. McGonagall sent them all away. However, no one wanted to go without at least some information. Remus couldn’t really transform and James was too huge an Animagus, so Sirius turned quickly and hid under an unused bed.

After what felt like an hour, they had stabilized Harry and Madam Pomfrey came along with another potion. Malfoy looked up and stood immediately between the mediwitch and Harry.

“Please, Madam Pomfrey, don’t give him this Dreamless Sleep Potion. He can’t deal with this version right now” he said quietly. If dogs could have frowned, Sirius would have definitely done so. In the situation he was in right now… he could just listen and wait.

The mediwitch started talking sternly. “Mr. Malfoy, what are you talking about? There’s only one version of Dreamless Sleep!”

Even McGonagall seemed unhappy with the situation. “Let Madam Pomfrey do her job, Malfoy!”

The Slytherin shook his head. “You don’t understand; Potter’s addicted to the betel nut. He can’t take a normal Dreamless Sleep Potion. Not in the state he’s right now!”

“And… you have another idea?” Madam Pomfrey asked quickly. Sirius saw the other wizard nodding and he took out a small vial which looked exactly like the other one, though with his colorblind dog vision, everything looked the same… Sometimes he actually cursed this vision.

The headmaster called for Professor Slughorn who entered after a few minutes and took the vial with him. Sirius decided to stay hidden some more. Though there was probably not that much happening anyway.

McGonagall discussed the severity of Harry’s wounds, but it seemed as if whatever spell was cast upon him, didn’t really hurt him, just knock him out rather good. So, it looked like this other wizard would get away once again. Sirius tried to scowl, but dog’s couldn’t do that, so he stayed there with a rather neutral looking face.

Nothing much happened, except for the blond wizard staying the night and Sirius, hiding as a dog, staying the night as well. He observed how Malfoy sat down on a chair, stood up, walked around and slumped back down, hiding his face. When a door opened, the man jumped behind some curtains and ducked. It was the headmistress, who peeked inside. Sirius was sure she had seen all of the hidden people… and dogs, but decided not to say anything. When she left, the Slytherin snuck back to his place on the chair.

*

There it was again. The nightmare. He had gone so long without it. So many nights had been good and now, suddenly that he was attacked by a freaking Slytherin in his own dormitory, the nightmares started again.

Though this time, they were different. Harry was on the battlefield, looking around. He couldn’t hear any people fighting, screaming for him to sacrifice himself. He saw nothing. No blood, no corpses, no nothing. Well, the castle was a ruin and there was a soft fog over the landscape. Something wasn’t right, he could feel it.

Then he saw it. The line of Death Eaters, Voldemort walking in front of them, Hagrid crying. He was carrying someone in his arms. Harry shook his head. An out of body experience? That was something new in his nightmares.

It hit him, suddenly. As if someone had thrown a Bludger right at him. The wizard in Hagrid’s arms had white blond hair. It was Malfoy. He was dead, carried by Hagrid the way he had carried him.

“Draco Malfoy is dead!” Voldemort called out and laughed diabolically.

Harry screamed in pain and horror and wanted to run over there, but was held back by Hermione and Ron. No! No, that wasn’t true! It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare… Malfoy wasn’t dead, he wasn’t… he… he couldn’t be.

Voldemort laughed again, the Death Eaters following his every lead. Harry tried to get away from Hermione and Ron, he needed to fight that bastard. There was no other way! How could he not have a chance to tell the Slytherin how he really felt?!

“He’s not dead, he’s not dead!” he repeated to himself. “He’s not dead!”

Harry got free, but Ron pulled him back and pushed him into the ground. “It’s okay, mate, he’s dead. It’s okay. He won’t hurt you anymore!”

“How can you say something like that?!” Harry screamed. He needed to see him, to touch him at least one more time, promising him, that he’d kill Voldemort and that he would live his life to his fullest from now on.

He felt pushed into the ground even deeper and started whimpering. “No, no, no. How could this happen. Why him? I should have died. I’m the one. No, no, no. He’s not dead. He’s not.”

“Potter!” a loud voice brought him out of his nightmare. He opened his eyes. Draco Malfoy stood over the bed, looking down, a little concerned. “Are you okay?”

Harry fell back into the bed and closed his eyes, he was shaking and he bit his lower lip. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that the sun had just settled at the horizon. He turned his head and took a good look at the Slytherin. He sighed quietly.

“I am now.”

Malfoy nodded. “You gave me quite the scare. I tried to tell you, that everything was okay, but you just kept talking that you wanted to die.”

 _You gave me a scare as well, in my dream_ , Harry thought. But he would never say something like that out loud. It was quiet again, both wizards having settled down again, smiled at each other. Harry could see how Malfoy desperately tried to start a new topic, which had nothing to do with the war. He found one rather quickly.

“By the way, I think these people from the past want to set you up with someone…”

Harry rolled his eyes and smiled. He remembered all their questions. And yes, they definitely did. Remus had asked him if he wanted to have children and if he believed in soulmates. “Thank you! I was wondering if it was just me or if they actually want to try and find me a partner.”

The Slytherin sat down next to Harry on the bed and looked at him curiously. “Well, do you have your eye on someone? Maybe you should tell them who it is.”

“I don’t think so, Malfoy.”

He closed his eyes again and counted all the different ways, one could harvest the death fruit, without dying. There weren’t that many. It definitely helped him not to blush. However, this action made the Slytherin almost cheer.

“Salazar, there is someone you’re interested in!”

“No!”

Harry realized that this might look a little childish, but he really didn’t want to tell Malfoy that he had a crush on him. That would destroy everything.

“Come on, Potter. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a time traveling figure from your past, but a highly intelligent and sophisticated Slytherin. I live for secrets and I sure as hell will not tell anyone who you’re interested in” Malfoy tried to convince him.

Instead of answering, Harry opened his eyes again and glared at the other man, hoping that his rudeness was enough for the Slytherin to let him in peace. It had, however, the exact opposite effect.

“Potter! If you don’t tell me who it is, I’ll tell the whole school that their beloved Golden Boy is in love with some secret person.”

That would be rather embarrassing for the blond wizard to find out that this secret person was him all along…

“Please don’t, Malfoy. And it’s not going to help me trusting you. Just… leave it alone for now. I promise that I’ll come and tell you, should I ever feel brave enough.”

“You’re a Gryffindor! You should be brave all the time.”

Harry sat up and looked at Malfoy grinning. “Well, dear Mr. Malfoy, you are a Slytherin which would mean you’re cunning and manipulative, yet you can’t get a name out of me?!”

Said Slytherin narrowed his eyes and nodded thoughtfully. “Point taken, _Mr. Potter_ , point taken.”

Harry felt once again heat rise into his face. Why did this damn man have such an effect on him? Luckily, though, he hadn’t called him calinours, that would have probably destroyed him right now. Especially after this nightmare.


	47. Time cannot heal all Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has another therapy session, but luckily no breakdown.

“Good evening, Harry, take a seat.”

Harry smiled weakly at Angelica and sat down in his usual place. For a second he remembered the very first day, where he was absolutely terrified of visiting the Mind Healer, yet here he was. She had helped him so much and he could have never imagined this year (well, not really a year) without her.

The lessons today had just been a pain, and every Monday Harry asked himself which professor hated them so much that they threw them into not a double lesson of Charms, but a _triple_ lesson. From breakfast to lunch! Other than that, the marauders had been incredibly quiet, looking at him a little secretive. Malfoy kept winking at him, whenever he caught them looking. That really wasn’t helping at all.

“So, how was your weekend?” Angelica asked after she sat down in the chair opposite of him.

Harry smiled. “Thanks to Malfoy, I actually had a plan for my father and friends and I think they liked it.”

“Well, that’s good for them. How was _your_ weekend?”

So, he couldn’t outwit her. He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, if I don’t count me being attacked by Zabini again, it was okay. But then I realized that my father and his friends want to set me up with someone.”

Angelica laughed. “And do you want to be set up?”

Harry was happy that she didn’t ask him about being attacked. Maybe she figured that if he wanted to talk about it, he would tell her. And she was right. Right now, he didn’t really want to think about what happened. 

“Who in their right mind wants to be set up? And they don’t know how bad it is for me to meet someone who genuinely likes me for me and not for my name, money and status” the last thing came out rather bitter, even though Harry hadn’t meant it like that.

“Well, you need to spend some time with them alone and find out their intentions on the way. Sometimes that may take time, sometimes you might not see it and sometimes it’s easier than you think.”

Harry nodded. He already knew that Malfoy – if he was actually interested in him – wasn’t in for his name. They had been fighting and bickering ever since they first met. The Slytherin didn’t like the status he’d had, since it destroyed his upbringing a little, and money… that didn’t seem to be important to him.

“Please tell me if I’m overstepping a line” Angelica interrupted his train of thoughts, “but from the looks of it, you already have your mind set to someone.”

He wasn’t sure what to say. If he mentioned that it was Malfoy, she could theoretically tell him. And if he didn’t feel the same way it would destroy the very delicate flower of friendship they had grown. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

His Mind Healer nodded smiling. “If you ever feel the need to tell me, you’re always welcome in my office.”

Their discussion then changed to future plans and Angelica wanted Harry to think about his five year plan or actually just any goal in the future. It was quiet for a long time, until Harry finally revealed that he had no idea what he should and wanted to do. Everyone had ideas of what the amazing Boy Who Lived Twice should be doing, but he didn’t like any of their suggestions. In the end, Angelica asked him for personal goals, not career moves. With this, Harry would start talking again and had big ideas.

“I know it sounds a little stupid, but I want to adopt as many children as I can and I want to give them a happy home and people who actually care about them. They don’t really need to be witches or wizards, but I just love the idea of having a big and loving family.” There was a smile on Angelica’s face and Harry knew that she understood.

When Harry left Angelica’s office, with homework of thinking about how he could work his personal dreams into a career, he saw the man he had crush on immediately. Once again, he sat at the typical space, satchel next to him and a book in his lap. However, he had opened it, but wasn't reading and he was missing ink, parchment and a quill. Harry stopped and admired the man for a few seconds. He had his legs crossed at the ankles, his hands intertwined, lay in top of the book, he looked at the wall, though he seemed to be someplace else. His hair was pushed back, however, not as strictly as he did it earlier in his life. There was a very small smile on his face and Harry had to admit, that he was living for moments like these.

“Evening, sunshine” he said grinning, as Malfoy looked up and raised his eyebrows at the same time.

“Sunshine?! I am no sunshine, Potter!”

Harry shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to him. “Well, I’m no teddy bear and yet, I still let you call me that.”

“I wouldn’t per se say that you let me call you teddy bear, because the last time I tried you told me to shut it and threw me a good-mood-killing-look” the Slytherin said with a slight smirk adorning his face.

“Just so you know, Malfoy, I will not let you call me teddy bear, when we’re in class! You were just trying to… to make me stop concentrating or whatever.”

The blond wizard laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “And did it work?” he asked and closed the book. He didn’t even wait for a reply, as he answered his own question. “Yes, it did and it was glorious!”

“It was not glorious, Malfoy! It was embarrassing!”

“Not for me, it wasn’t, Potter.”

Instead of answering, Harry glared at the Slytherin, who smiled at him so sweet that even honey wasn’t sweet enough.

“You’re the worst, Draco Malfoy.”

“I do what I can!”

Harry finally started laughing and shoved the blond wizard a little away from him. The Slytherin seemed to be pleased and placed the book he had been reading in his satchel. He got up and helped Harry to his feet.

“Let’s go and eat dinner, calinours.”

Harry turned away quickly and walked in front of the Slytherin, until the heat in his face had resolved. Then they entered the Great Hall together and sat down next to Ron and Hermione and the marauders, Neville and Hanna on the opposite side of the table.

*

There was a heartbreaking sob in the shower, as Harry snuck by. It was late at night and Harry couldn’t sleep, so he had decided to take a midnight shower, but apparently someone else already had the idea. Malfoy had decided that they’d try and only use the Dreamless Sleep Potion every other night. He hoped that they were both well enough to survive this. Harry really didn’t want to give a good night’s sleep a miss, but he did want to get better, so he agreed. Now, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know who was in there, seeing that if it was Ron, he would feel heartbroken himself – why wouldn’t he come to him or Hermione? If it was Zabini… there was no telling what he would do, maybe hurt him a little more and what if it was Malfoy? What should he do then?

As much as he wanted, he couldn’t just ignore the clear cry for help, so he snuck into the dark cubicle next to his, but what he saw had his heart ache with pain. The man was sitting in a corner, clinging to his bent knees as if they were his last resort, his face was wet from all the shed tears, but his clothes were drenched because of the shower that was washing over him. Harry turned it off and just then, the blond wizard looked up, fear in his eyes, every cell in his body visibly in a fight or flight mode. Only that he was trapped, so it was going to be fighting. When he recognized Harry, he whimpered quietly. Harry frowned and kneeled, just when he heard what the Slytherin was saying.

“Please don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me. Please don’t.”

Without knowing, what was going on, Harry reached forward with his hand, when Malfoy started shaking more and squirmed. “Please don’t, don’t hurt me. I never wanted to be part of it. Don’t hurt me!”

What was going on? Harry was worried about the man on the floor and was just about to tell him that the war was over, that he didn’t need to be so scared, when the blond wizard looked up into his eyes. He was clearly scared of him.

He stopped in the middle of his action and remembered. _Sectumsepra_. The bathroom, the spell, only them occupying a room. He probably had a flashback and Harry being here wasn’t helping, but he wanted, he needed to do something.

“Hey” he said softly and showed his empty hands. “Look, I’m not armed – my wand’s upstairs. I won’t hurt you! It’s okay. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Malfoy was still shaking, his teary eyes obviously searching for the truth in Harry’s face or eyes. He wasn’t sure how to make the other man more comfortable. If it was _him_ sitting on the floor, the Slytherin would just start talking in French, but he didn’t know any other languages. He didn’t know how to be there for someone – people had been there for him all his life. This was new, very new.

“If you want, I can leave. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable” Harry added a little awkward. The man on the floor shook his head violently and Harry bit his lower lip. What should he do?! “I’m not giving up on you, so don’t give up on yourself!”

Malfoy quickly tried to hide his tears by wiping over his face with the back of his hand. Harry wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of ignoring what was going on and sat down onto the wet floor. He placed his hand a little hesitantly on Malfoy’s knee and smiled encouragingly. This time, the blond wizard let him touch him, which was a small victory.

“It’s going to be okay, Draco.” He felt the need to talk to him, saying his first name. Somehow _Malfoy_ just didn’t seem to work right now. His former nemesis opened his eyes and Harry could see some more tears about to flow.

“You don’t…” Malfoy… Draco tried to talk and wiped his eyes again, possibly to stop the tears before they showed. “You don’t even know what happened. Or why I’m down here c…”

“Crying?” Harry finished his sentence, while the other man nodded quietly, looking to the floor again. Harry squeezed his hand softly and presented the Slytherin another smile. “I don’t need to. You’re hurt, you need someone helping you out of the hole you’re currently digging for yourself. You helped me through some hard times; let me help you now for a change.”

The Slytherin was definitely out of energy… why else would he agree to such an offer? Harry stood up and helped him up as well. Without saying much, he cast a wandless drying charm over them and guided him to a sink, where he softly cleaned the other man’s face. The Slytherin stood there, eyes closed, still a little trembling, but giving all the control to Harry.

Once he had finished, Harry leaned in and pulled him into a tight hug. Malfoy or Draco inhaled deeply and was suddenly hugging him back. Harry had no idea, why he had hugged him; it just looked like he had needed it.

Apparently, the comfort Harry was giving coupled with the care and genuine worry for Draco was too much for him, as he started to sob into Harry’s hug. Instead of letting go, Harry only grabbed him tighter and held him closer. Sometimes all you need to do was let all your emotions out and the Slytherin seemed to need it right now. After quite some time, the tears subsided and Draco stopped trembling in his arms. Harry looked at him and saw an almost peaceful expression on his face.

“Come on, Draco. I think we could both need a little more sleep.”

“Can’t sleep” Draco whispered and clang to Harry’s shirt. Harry touched his forehead with his own.

“You’re not the only one. But we should at least try.”

Draco didn’t move and kept Harry from moving away, so he touched the blond hair and kept toying with it until the other man glared at him and rolled his eyes. “Can’t sleep alone” he admitted just as quietly as he had said his first statement.

Harry smiled and let the blond strand of hair fall back. “Who said I was going to leave your side?”

“Stop being the bloody Chosen Savior” Draco said and hit his fist on Harry’s shoulder. Either the Slytherin was really tired or it was meant playfully, since it didn’t hurt a bit.

“I will always be there to save my friends” Harry said and led Draco back up the stairs towards the other man’s bed. Draco slid inside and Harry tucked him in carefully. The Slytherin’s eyes were on him quite intently.

When Harry wanted to go to his own bed, Draco grabbed his wrist and stopped him effectively. “Don’t go, please!”

“I’m not even in another room, Draco” he whispered and leaned over the other man.

However, the blond wizard shook his head and pushed his blankets back. “Stay with me.”

Harry hesitated. On one hand, he really shouldn’t sleep in another man’s bed, but on the other hand, he would have given anything, to be close to the Slytherin, to help him through what he was going through. And maybe it would help him finally realizing how deep his affections for the Malfoy heir actually were. And truth be told, he probably needed it as much as Draco.

So he slipped under the blanket, close to Draco, who immediately threw his arms around Harry’s neck and laid his head on his chest. Harry placed his arm on the Slytherin’s back and rubbed it gently. Only a few minutes passed, when both men fell asleep peacefully without having taken any potion.


	48. There’s a Time and a Place for everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Draco thinks about what happend last night, Molly receives a letter from Harry.

Draco sat at the breakfast table, drinking pumpkin juice and toying with his food. He looked to the other table, where Potter and his friends were sitting with the marauders. This morning, he wasn’t really feeling good enough to sit next to the almighty hero.

When he had woken up this morning and had found the Chosen Idiot sleeping in his bed, he was about to start yelling, but smacked a pillow over his head instead. It made the other man yelp and he fell out of bed. Just then, he had remembered why the Savior was in his bed.

He’d had a breakdown in the bathroom and he was there, calming him down. Even though he looked uncomfortable, he had done a very good job at it. And he had called him ‘Draco’ all evening. It just felt natural and he finally decided to let it happen.

The only problem was that now he had definitely lost his heart for the Golden Boy. It wasn’t the first time he had a breakdown and flashbacks to the war and all those little tricks, Angelica had shown him, never really helped. Apparently, being hugged by Potter was the only thing that would help him through something like this.

When Harry… or Potter fell out of his bed, the commotion awoke his friend Weasley who seemed to be a little surprised of what was going on.

“Harry… Why are you sitting on the floor?”

Potter hadn’t said anything about having slept in his bed, but rather lied to his best friend. He lied! For him. He said how he wanted to wake up ‘Malfoy’ but that he was met with a pillow instead.

And Weasley, he just bought it and fell back into his bed. Potter smiled at him, shrugged his shoulders and went to shower.

So now, they were sitting on different tables, neither really eating. Draco watched as Harry picked at his food uninterested. His father and friends looked at him rather nervous and worried. He couldn’t look away from Harry, though. His hair was as unruly as ever. He had an unexpected handsome and attractive face. His jaw was strong, and when he smiled it lit up his whole face. Suddenly, someone sat in front of him, blocking his perfect view and bringing him back to reality.

“Hi, Draco” Luna smiled at him. “How are you?”

Draco smiled and observed as Harry got up, a parchment in his hands and looking rather determined. Weasley called something, but he just straight out walked out of the Great Hall.

“Okay” he answered.

Luna smiled at him. “You know, it’s quite obvious you have a crush on Harry. You shouldn’t wait that long to confront him.”

Draco narrowed his eyes. “What?! I don’t have a… yeah no. I can’t lie about that” he sighed and rubbed his temples. Luna laughed and grabbed some toast.

“I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t even know if he’s gay or not! He only ever had _girl_ friends. I don’t want to get hurt again.”

Luna shook her head, thinking. “If you don’t at least try it, you never know if you get hurt. He clearly likes you too. I can see it in the way the Nargles move around him. And how they move around the two of you when you're together.”

“Yes, but what if he thinks of me as only a friend?” he asked and stared down at his food. Suddenly not hungry anymore, he pushed the plate back. “I need to get some fresh air.”

As he stood up, he knew exactly where he could find him. He was definitely going to send a letter and his owl was almost certainly in the owlery. He jogged through the castle and climbed up the stairs only fixating the individual steps. Deep in concentration, he didn’t realize that someone else walked out of the owlery and they collided messily.

“Can you not look where you… oh.” Draco looked up to see Harry grinning at him.

He brushed some snowflakes from his shoulders and helped him get up again. The touch of his hands, sent shivers down his spine and Draco knew it wasn’t because he had cold hands. “I’m sorry about that, Draco. I needed to send a very important letter and my mind was just… somewhere.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Harry grinned and turned to the stairs. “So, what brings you up here? Got a letter to send?”

Well, his plan just got destroyed. He only wanted to see Harry. His excuse of ‘needing fresh air’ wasn’t really working if you climbed the owlery, when you could have just entered the courtyard.

“Well, I… I wanted to talk to you.” It was better to say the truth than lie about something like that. Harry nodded.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you as well. I’m really sorry for scaring you this morning. Last night, I… I just thought maybe you needed some help and I didn’t think what would happen in the morning” he said. His voice was apologetic and Draco knew instantly that he needed to do something, or this might end in a disaster.

He cleared his throat. “Harry, I’m sorry for this morning. I freaked out, because I had forgotten about what happened last night. Truth be told, I slept much better with…” he felt heat creep into his face and let the sentence hang in the air.

The Gryffindor shrugged, but his nonchalance turned into surprise after a few seconds. “Did you just call me ‘Harry’? Why would you do that?”

“You… you call me Draco?!”

They looked at each other flabbergasted for a second, before starting to laugh. Draco felt so free and suddenly happy. Harry wasn’t mad at him for pushing him out of his bed and they still had a good friendship, even though Draco wanted more. They walked down the stairs, sometimes brushing their hands against each other. Draco was sure that Harry had a thing for him. He had said that he had a crush… maybe he was said crush?! He was about... twenty five percent sure.

Once they were on the ground floor again, walking outside towards the Herbology class, Harry started talking again. “I just sent Molly Weasley a letter, asking if those time traveling idiots could go and spend Christmas there. I’m not sure she’s going to say yes, but I think it would be easier to keep an eye on them there.”

“That’s a good idea! I’ve seen their house once, did you know?”

Harry stopped and looked at him seemingly surprised. “You once said you hated their house even though you hadn’t seen it. And now you’re telling me, you’ve seen it?”

“From afar, Harry” he grinned and rolled his eyes.

Chuckling, Harry resumed walking towards the greenhouses. Suddenly, he turned to Draco again. “Did you hear that Dean and Seamus are throwing a party in the Room of Requirement?”

The Slytherin was a little surprised, but grinned. “No, actually I haven’t. Are you going?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I haven’t decided yet. It’s on Thursday night. So maybe I am going. You?”

“Maybe. I need to check my calendar first, Harry” Draco grinned and winked at him. Harry rolled his eyes.

“You know, if you keep calling me Harry, you should probably say ‘Hermione’ and ‘Ron’ as well. Otherwise, that would look really suspicious.”

“What? Why?” he asked, playing innocent. He knew there was a ghost of a smirk on his face and Harry had definitely seen it, smacking him on his shoulders. “Ouch! Why would you hurt my delicate skin!?”

“Oh, you know why, _Malfoy_ ” Harry said. There was no poison in his sentence however, simply playful.

Draco grinned. “I sure do, calinours.”

This earned him another glaring look from Harry as well as a little red skin on his cheeks. He chuckled, as he walked behind the Chosen Idiot towards the door that had just been opened for all the students.

*

It was a normal day at the Burrow. Well, there weren’t any normal days, so the day was normal. Arthur was in the Ministry working with Percy and Bill, who was over with a very pregnant Fleur, who was laying in bed a lot. Charlie had returned to some dragon nest in Ukraine and he had promised to be back by Christmas. If he wasn’t, Molly’d be going there and tear him back by his ear. George was working on his shop in Hogsmeade and Molly knew that he was working so much, because that way he wouldn’t have time to think. She knew that he had covered all mirrors in his apartment with black tape and he ignored all his friends from Hogwarts, but she had no idea how to help him. Sighing, she took a huge pan and threw some steaks in there, leaving one aside for Bill.

Suddenly, a small owl arrived with an unruly head of feathers. It looked so small, yet seemed to be incredibly proud that it made it to their house.

Molly took away the letter and gave it some treats. Since it stayed at the kitchen window, someone was expecting an answer. She opened the parchment scroll and found the handwriting of none other than Harry, her son’s best friend.

> _Dear Molly_
> 
> _This might surprise you, but we have a little problem at Hogwarts right now. It’s nothing big and scary, but it concerns me (when does it not…). The thing is, at the end of October 1975 my father decided it was a good idea to turn a Time Turner and he landed in the future – this year to be exact. It’s not only him, though: Sirius and Remus travelled with him (thank god, Pettigrew didn’t. I would have probably killed him on sight). They are in fifth year. Their Time Turner is broken and since we have nothing else left, the Ministry (Aurors and Unspeakables) has been trying to rebuild it, so far unsuccessful. McGonagall does not want them to spend Christmas at Hogwarts and we’re trying to find a safe place for them to stay. I know it’s probably too much to ask, since they will almost certainly do more damage than anything else, but you were the very first person I thought of. Please let me know if they can stay here with us. If not, I can keep looking for another place._
> 
> _I hope you are feeling well and everyone else is doing good. Ron and Hermione have been gone almost every weekend to look after her parents, which are doing great by the way. And maybe you should talk to Ginny, as she has kidnapped two Slytherin boys attacking Draco. No one knows where they are and I think McGonagall’s slowly getting impatient. Other than that, we’re doing great in our studies; Hermione’s as focused as ever during the week, she’s even sleeping most nights. I myself realized I like Potions much more than I thought and we’re allowed to learn how to become Animagi in Transfigurations. I have no idea what animal I’m going to become, but I love the idea!_
> 
> _Anyway, the owl that brought my letter is Abra, he’s a sweet little owl with a huge ego. If you complement him on his looks, he’ll probably show you his (not so) impressive wingspan._
> 
> _I’m looking forward to hearing from you and also to spend Christmas with you, if you’re still okay with me being part of it._
> 
> _Harry_

Molly set the parchment down on the table and turned to the meat frying in the pan. It was nearly lunch time, so Arthur and the boys should be home rather soon. She really needed to talk to Arthur about all of this.

Of course, something had to happen during Harry’s last year. Now that He-Who-Must-Not… Voldemort was dead, another thing of his past has to arrive and haunt him. She turned back to the letter and skimmed it again until she found the sentence she was looking for.

“Maybe you should talk to Ginny, as she has kidnapped two Slytherin boys attacking Draco” she read aloud. Draco? When did _Malfoy_ turn into ‘Draco’? And since when was her daughter protecting a former Death Eater?

She was looking forward to hearing that story. She looked at the steaks and took them from the fire. She grabbed the pasta and the sauce and after a few seconds, three voices were talking outside. She looked at the wall clock and saw all three spoons moving to ‘home’. With a quick magic spell, she set the table and everything was ready, when the men entered the house.

“Hello, darling” Arthur said smiling and gave her a short kiss.

“Hi mum!” Bill grinned and immediately looked at the rare steak on the kitchen counter. Molly shooed him up to his room to look after Fleur and sent Percy to wash his hands, which he did eventually.

Arthur looked at her expectantly and smiled as she showed him the letter. “I knew you had an ulterior motive to send everyone away” he cracked a smile.

“Well, you should read the letter, Arthur. Then you know the real reason.”

It was quiet for a moment and Molly was happy that Percy probably decided to stop by Fleur to talk to his brother and wife. She watched her husband’s expression change from happy to concerned. She knew they had to do something.

“Well, setting aside what our daughter did, I think we need to help this poor boy! We need to take them in!” her husband said with a strict voice and Molly agreed.

It wasn’t going to be easy and they had to tell the rest of the family, but they couldn’t let Harry deal with it alone. Molly also wasn’t very happy to hear that her son chose to visit his girlfriend’s parents every weekend. Yes, he should stand by her, but he also shouldn’t let his best friend deal with something so traumatic on his own. On the other hand, maybe that was Ron’s way of dealing with the war – going away from Hogwarts.

Bill and Percy came down again, Fleur probably decided to stay in bed. Once they had eaten and the men left for work again, Molly sat down to write three letters. The first one was for Ginny, telling her that taking prisoners wasn’t really the best way to teach people a lesson and that she should let the Slytherin boys go.

Before she wrote another letter, she started a cookie dough and formed it into long sticks, before putting it into the refrigerator, so they could be cut easily. Then, she sat down again, after having washed her hands and picked up another parchment.

The second letter she wrote was for Ron, asking him how Hermione’s parents were doing, but also scolding him for not being there for Harry. She asked about his studies, since Harry so elegantly didn’t refer to him, which would indicate nothing good.

The cookies were now cool enough to cut properly (with the help of a little magic) and she carefully cut them and placed them on a baking sheet, before placing them inside the oven and starteing to write the last letter. The last one was obviously for Harry himself. She thought about what she should write and then started very carefully.

> _Dear Harry_
> 
> _Thank you very much for your letter. I was very surprised to hear what happened to you. Of course you can bring your father and his friends with you. You might have to tell them that we knew them when they were adults, so they know what’s going on._
> 
> _I’m happy to hear that your studies are going so well. I never would have thought that you would start to like Potions, after what Severus made you go through. So, will this be something you might consider doing in the future?_

Molly got up and took the cookies out of the oven. They were still hot, but the package was charmed with a cooling charm, so they should arrive at the perfect time with the perfect consistency. One thing Molly had learnt was to watch the timing. It was all in the timing.

She sat back down to write the last paragraph.

> _I’ll send my love and some cookies with your owl Abra. Please distribute them to the others in your year. And of course I would love to see you on Christmas! You are as much part of this family as Ron and Ginevra are._
> 
> _Best wishes_
> 
> _Molly_

She got up and complemented Abra, who was sitting on the window sill, skeptically looking at a Kneazel outside, on his strength. He hooted approvingly and accepted the big package, which was almost the same size as the owl.

Without any further problems, he flew away and Molly smiled to herself, already planning the perfect Christmas.


	49. Definitely not a Stitch in Time… more the Opposite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a party and Harry might have had a little bit too much to drink. Everything goes smoothly...

There was a party and the marauders weren’t invited. Well actually, no students of any year but the eighth year were invited. James crossed his arms and had already talked about five different ways they could eventually crash the party. However, Remus wouldn’t let anyone go. Sirius tried to talk ‘sense’ into him, though he still hadn’t achieved anything. So for the time being, they sat in the empty Common Room, playing wizard’s chess.

Suddenly, the door to the Common Room opened and two figures appeared. James tugged his two best friends away from the fire and threw his Invisibility Cloak over them. Yes, he had given it to his son in his future, however, they had taken it with them, when they time travelled, which apparently meant that there were two of these now. Remus had grabbed the chessboard, but James saw just then, that the black queen had fallen off and lay on the table by herself.

The two figures turned out to be Malfoy and Harry. His son almost fell down the stairs. The Slytherin caught his arm and pulled him back up on his feet. He shook his head and walked slowly down the stairs, helping Harry along.

“Hey, Chosen Idiot, you are such a lightweight. Is this the first time you drank something that had alcohol in it?”

Shaking his head, Harry tried to get free. The Slytherin was holding him too tight. Or maybe it was just because he seemed to be so drunk that he couldn’t get free.

“I’m no lie… lightweight. No lightweight, am not” Harry said and had suddenly both his arms around the Slytherins neck and hid his face in his chest.

“Harry… What are you doing?” Malfoy asked, visibly irritated. Though he didn’t try and get him away from him. He did almost stumble down the stairs with the other man, but caught himself at the banister.

James watched as his son only tried to get closer to the Slytherin. He basically pressed himself as close as he could. James heard Sirius whisper something and had to turn around to hear what he was saying.

“I think something might happen now, I don’t want to be in the room, when they get it on.”

Remus glared at him, as well as that worked in a shadowy place. “If he does anything, while Harry’s not fully conscious, we should do something!”

Just then, Malfoy stopped, trying to walk down the stairs, with a seemingly drunken Harry around his neck. He frowned and looked around. Apparently, they hadn’t been all that quiet. Malfoy must have heard something, as he scanned the room very carefully, though he couldn’t see them. He did stop and frown at the only piece of chess on the table, but apparently didn’t think it was important. James was happy they were hiding under the cloak. After a while the Slytherin turned to the Gryffindor around his neck. “Come on, Harry. Let’s get you to bed. I’m rather sure, you can sleep well tonight.”

Harry shook his head and stopped the Slytherin from walking. “Not ‘ired” he said and pushed Malfoy back, which made him fall back on a step. Harry climbed on top of him and was sitting in his lap, still hiding his face in his chest.

James saw how Malfoy was breathing heavily and how he closed his eyes for a second. It looked like he had to pull himself together and needed all the strength he could gather. He tried to get Harry off his lap and to stand up at the same time. However, Harry was having none of that.

“Harry, get up, you Chosen Idiot” Malfoy repeated it about three times. Then he pushed Harry from his lap rather aggressively and got up not a second to early, as Harry was back around his neck.

“This is getting ridiculous, Potter.”

James had to bite back a grin. What was going on there? The Slytherin climbed down the rest of the steps and walked towards the couch. When he tried to make Harry sit down, James saw his son pulling the Slytherin down with him. He lost his balance and fell on top of Harry on the couch.

“Come on, Harry. You shouldn’t even be that drunk!” He pushed himself up and wanted to get away from James’ son, but he kept his arms locked around the other man’s neck.

Only with a lot of trouble did he manage to get Harry off of him. “Listen, you drunk Golden Boy, you need some sleep. Or a Sober-Up Potion, but since I don’t have any of those, just go to bed.”

“I’m 'n- I’m in- I’m in bed.”

“You’re on a couch” Malfoy argued and rolled his eyes.

Harry grinned stupidly. “You smell like a park… like walk in a park.”

The Slytherin had just walked to the door towards the boy’s Dormitories, when he stopped dead in his track and turned around carefully. James saw how his face had an extremely surprised expression. He almost ran back to the sofa and leaned over a sleepy looking Harry. “Sorry, what?”

There was something happening that James couldn’t quite decode. It seemed as if this comment was extremely important to Malfoy, but neither James, nor Remus and Sirius had any idea what it meant. His son was apparently also not so sure what he was saying.

“You smell like a walk. In a park. L-Like picnic and spring” Harry giggled. The Slytherin sat down next to him on the couch and smiled. It was suddenly such a beautiful, loving smile. James was absolutely surprised and he knew the rest of his group was as well.

While he sat there, he placed a hand on Harry’s arm and stroke it softly. “So, a walk in a park? Does it remind you of your Amortentia?”

James had to place a hand on his mouth, not to gasp loudly. He could hear Sirius and Remus doing the exact same thing. Harry nodded and grinned dumbly. How high was the possibility that he would remember it? Now, Malfoy would know that James’ son had a crush on him, but he himself wouldn’t remember. No, wait. It wasn’t a crush. It was love. Full on love.

“That’s nice” Malfoy answered softly and smiled back down at Harry.

Harry made an approving sound. “Think so too.”

The Slytherin chuckled. “Glad you do. So, for the future, calinours, do I just have to pretend this never happened or do you want me to talk to you about your Amortentia?”

James looked at his friends, who were equally as surprised as he was. He had always thought that this Malfoy man had a nice side and whenever he was talking to Harry, it seemed that this side was getting more and more soft. Now, it almost looked loving. They needed to set those two up together. Now, Malfoy knew how Harry felt about him, he only needed to have the courage to tell him that when his son was sober.

“No-no talking” Harry managed to say and shook his head. “Not ready for y-you t’ know.”

“Okay” the Slytherin grinned and leaned down. He kissed Harry’s forehead softly, while the man giggled, and stroke his cheeks. “I won’t say a word.”

He stood up and helped Harry to his feet. “Now, you need to go to bed, my love.”

James almost screamed loud. _My love_?! Malfoy felt the same as Harry did! They needed to do something. Remus and Sirius were also about to do something stupid, though they could all hold it back a little longer.

“Not ‘ired” Harry repeated and threw his arms again around the Slytherin’s neck.

Malfoy put his arms around Harry’s waist and walked him backwards towards the door for the boy’s dormitory. “I know, I know. But you’re drunk and I think you’re about to throw up. We better go to the bathroom, mon petit calinours.”

With that they were gone and Remus quickly cast a silencing charm, before they started screaming and cheering and planning how and what they should do so that they would end up together.

*

Harry rubbed his temples. The pounding headache in his head was about to explode his brain. Or at least it felt like it. When he opened his eyes, he saw the sun already in his room, the curtains of his bed had been pulled back. He groaned and pressed his hands over his eyes.

What happened last night? He only remembered walking into the party and there being quite a lot of alcohol. He must have drunken a lot, though he couldn’t remember anything.

Just then, the door towards the bathrooms opened and Draco walked in. He was only wearing a towel around his waist, his damp hair sticking on his head in all directions. Harry held his breath. He looked extremely sexy. When he took off the towel, Harry made a noise, which he couldn’t really describe and hid his face in his hands, though he saw the beginnings of his jeans.

He felt the Slytherin walking closer and opened his eyes to see him standing next to his bed. “Morning, drunken Idiot.” He grinned.

Harry groaned. “Shut up. Please tell me you’ve got something against my headache around here.”

Wordlessly, Draco presented him with a small vial. Once Harry drank everything, he felt how his pounding headache subsided. He immediately felt a thousand times better.

“Thank you.”

“No need. I stole it from Slughorn’s personal stock.”

Harry sat up quickly and looked at Draco in shock. “You did what? Why?”

“I stole it, Harry. And as to why… because you needed it and it was fun.”

Draco shrugged his shoulders, walked over to his trunk and looked for something to wear. Harry fell back into bed. He had seen those red scars all over the pale skin of the Slytherin. He had known they would be there, but they looked horrendous.

“Draco, how did I get into bed? “

“Don’t you remember?” the other man asked and seemed a little too occupied with looking through his trunk.

Harry sighed. “I remember nothing, apart from walking into the party.”

“Well, you made out with Hermione and played a drinking game with Dean, which you lost, before telling Anthony that you were deeply and utterly in love with him.”

Shocked, Harry sat in his bed, unable to move. What?! Oh, he could never ever talk to Hermione ever again. Probably not even to Ron; that would end in a disaster. And Anthony… what? He had absolutely no feelings for him! But that would also mean, that he had apparently told everyone he was gay… Only when he looked to the Slytherin again did he see the little sparkle in his eyes and a treacherous ghost of a grin on his lips.

“I see. So you’re taking me for a ride, aren’t you?”

Draco laughed loudly and shook his head. “Don’t worry, Harry. Nothing bad happened. You actually did play a drinking game with Dean, but he tricked you into drinking more than you could handle and I took you back to the dormitory, where you fell asleep as soon as you were in bed.”

Oh thank goodness. At least nothing happened. “You didn’t have to bring me back here. Ron or Hermione could have done that.”

“They seemed to be rather busy themselves and I didn’t want to disturb them.”

Harry smiled sheepishly. Draco had apparently found what he was looking for and pulled a black long-sleeve shirt over his head. Harry couldn’t stop staring, even when the Slytherin looked at him and smiled a little, he couldn’t avert his gaze.

“So, I didn’t do or say anything stupid last night?” he asked to confirm it.

Draco shook his head. “No, nothing stupid, I promise you that.”

Harry nodded and got up himself. “Thank you again.”

“Any time, calinours.”

Harry threw his legs over the edge of the bed and raced to the showers, hoping that the cold water would also wash away any feelings he had for the Slytherin. Which it obviously didn’t. And frankly, he was quite happy about that.


	50. The Time has come for a Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry takes Draco along to meet Teddy and Andromeda.

Harry’s and Draco’s unplanned sleep over had resulted in both of them enjoying the closeness of the other one during nights when they tried to sleep without Dreamless Sleep Potion. Both men had argued that they just needed to get over their fear of nightmares, before they could sleep alone again.

Honestly, Harry was looking forward to nights without the Dreamless Sleep Potion. He had grown to love Draco’s distinct smell of chocolate, rose bushes and pine trees. It reminded him of something, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It didn’t matter anyway, since he felt safe there. Even though he didn’t know why, he also felt accepted and loved, which he needed quite a bit. He knew that Draco must have felt similar, since most nights they shared a bed, he sighed happily, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

It gave Harry a lot of time, examining the Slytherin and he loved every second of it. Every night, he started to get more and more excited to look at a sleeping Draco Malfoy.

Every morning, they were up before anybody else, just in case someone would walk in and see them. They would sit in the Common Room reading or working on homework. Harry was sure that Hermione suspected something, but she probably didn't know what was going on exactly. But then again, neither did Harry.

When Friday arrived, Draco seemed to be extremely anxious and he refused to reveal why. It took a lot of convincing (and also probably Angelica who talked to him before dinner), when he finally told Harry what was going on.

“All of you lot will be gone over the weekend! Gra… Hermione and Ron visiting her parents, you visiting your godson. How am I supposed to fight the Slytherin army? They’re waiting for me to be unprotected. I know that the Weaslette… Ginny” he corrected when Harry raised an eyebrow, “abducted two Slytherins and they were scared as hell of her once they returned. But she can’t protect me alone against a hundred of them! I’m not even allowed to fight.”

The afternoon after they both started calling themselves by their first names, they had met up with Hermione and Ron, as well as Neville and Millicent, and they had explained, that as a next step in their friendship they were now saying Harry and Draco. Draco had then asked his two best friends, if he should call them Granger and Weasley or Hermione and Ron. Of course, they were over the moon and had decided to go by their first names. Harry was incredibly proud of all of this.

Now, however, Harry frowned and thought about what Draco just said. “What if you’d come with me?”

“What?”

“Well, Andromeda’s your aunt. You should be allowed to visit family. That way you cannot only visit her, but I could also introduce you to Teddy. He’s the sweetest little boy I’ve ever seen. Always smiling and giggling!”

Draco looked at the pattern on the floor and suddenly nodded. “That would be amazing, but I don’t think I’m allowed to travel outside of Hogwarts.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “That’s bullshit. Come with me, we’ll resolve this immediately.” He grabbed the Slytherin’s wrist and pulled him to McGonagall’s office, where he knocked and entered.

He let go of Draco and found the Minister inside McGonagall’s office. Kingsley smiled at Harry and greeted him quickly, looking at Draco skeptical.

“Hi Kingsley, what are you doing here?” Harry asked surprised.

Kingsley smiled broadly. “We found a solution for your…” his gaze flickered over Draco.

“He knows.”

“Oh.” Another scrutinizing look from Kingsley towards Draco. “In that case: We found a solution for the broken Time Turner and it’s being assembled as we speak. We will be able to test it in a few days and maybe they can be sent home by Christmas. That would be a nice present, don't you think?”

Harry nodded hesitantly. Was he ready to say goodbye? He had just started to accept that they would stay over Christmas. And now he was losing them all over again? However, he couldn't let his feelings run free now. The Minister just wanted to leave, when Harry realized why they went to McGonagall’s office. It wouldn’t hurt to ask the Minister for his help, right?

“Kingsley, if I wanted Draco to come with me and meet Teddy, would that be a problem for the Aurors and his probation? Assuming that Professor McGonagall was okay with it” he added quickly and gave the headmistress an apologizing look.

Kingsley smiled. “If Professor McGonagall was okay with it, it would be alright, as long as you stay by his side. The Aurors might pop in and check up on him, but other than that I don’t see a problem.” He walked to the fire place and was gone in mere seconds.

Harry knew that it probably wasn’t the best idea, to go over the headmistress, especially in front of the Minister of Magic. When he turned, however, he saw a small smile on her face.

“How come, that you know about the time travelers?” the headmistress asked, though her tone was softer than Harry would have expected.

The Slytherin looked at her sheepishly. “I… might have followed Harry to the Shrieking Shack and found Prof… um, Remus Lupin inside.”

McGonagall laughed shortly. This surprised both Harry and Draco. “I see. Well, I guess that means I won’t be seeing you two this weekend?” she asked. Harry looked at Draco and nodded. “You better let Madam Pomfrey know, so she won’t be waiting for you to show up.”

Harry immediately went and informed Andromeda by letter that she should expect two people and that he’d bring Draco with him. Meanwhile, Draco walked to the infirmary, talking to Madam Pomfrey that he wouldn’t be available over the weekend.

Harry was in the Common Room much earlier and decided to start a fire show. The one Hermione once did for him when they were alone. He was sitting on the armchair closest to the fire, charming it to show some kind of story. Basically everyone in the eighth year was there and when Harry quickly looked up, he saw an astonished Draco Malfoy standing in the middle of the crowd, following every move from the Muggle fairytale, he had chosen. Harry had even learnt how to place color inside the fire, to make certain people stand out (something he was incredibly proud of as even Hermione had trouble with it). He was playing Cinderella, which he had wanted to give to Draco in bookform for a while now, as a good book to read. However, with this whole Time Turner thing, they never really had time to read normal books anyway.

He turned back to the ball scene he was projecting, with a beautiful blue fire ball gown for the protagonist. He ignored all his thoughts about Draco and got back into the story. Once it was over and everyone had seen a happy ending, they applauded him and broke into small groups discussing the fairytale.

Draco suddenly sat on the floor next to Harry, shielding him from the fire. Grinning, Harry leaned forwards and said quietly: “You have absolutely no manners! Sitting on the floor?!” The snort, he was getting from the Slytherin, made him lean back, smirking slightly.

“That was beautiful! Where did you learn something like that?” Draco asked, still visibly fascinated.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve spent two weeks alone in Grimmauld Place, I needed something to do. So I read and I practiced this shit and I ended up being somewhat okay at that.”

The Slytherin laughed and threw him a look, he couldn’t quite decode. There had been a lot of them lately. “Well, Harry, it’s beautiful shit.”

“Why, thank you!”

Hermione and Ron sat down on the table in front of Harry and Draco turned himself around, so his back wouldn’t be facing them.

“We’ve heard you were allowed to leave Hogwarts for this weekend?” Hermione spoke to Draco and he smiled and nodded. “Well, congratulations! Teddy is just a sweet little angel, you’ll like him!”

Ron grinned and pointed out that they were four people and also, that he wanted to play the four player’s chess. Harry sighed and looked at Draco, who only grinned back at him. “Why not?”

So, the rest of the evening went with three more games of chess in which Ron and Hermione won twice and Harry and Draco once, even though Harry was sure that while Ron and Hermione were in their own little bubble, Draco had changed two or more pieces in their favor…

*

The next morning, Harry woke Draco and they walked to the apparition point to get to Andromeda’s. Harry had made sure that the marauders were going to McGonagall. He didn’t like leaving them alone, but maybe it was okay for two days.

When they arrived, Harry could already hear a crying Teddy and walked inside without knocking. Teddy was lying in the living room and definitely needed his diaper changed. Harry quickly tended to it and lifted him then into his arms.

“Hey Teddy, it’s okay, bud” he said quietly and rocked him a little. Teddy hiccupped and clung to him, hiding his teary face in his shirt.

Draco zigzagged through the stuff lying on the floor until he stood closer to Harry. “Is it always like this?”

Harry quietly shook his head and when Teddy showed his face again, he turned so that the toddler was facing Draco. “Look Teddy, I brought a guest. That’s Draco. Can you say ‘Draco’?”

The toddler slowly got his laughs and giggles back as he looked at the blond wizard, still a little teary eyes, and reached out to him. Draco hesitantly raised his hand and Teddy touched it, giggling softly. Harry smiled and gave his godson a kiss on his head.

“Did you eat already, Ted?”

Finally, the little boy started talking again. Harry was incredibly happy for that, since he wasn’t sure how long his poor godson had to crawl around in a used diaper. “Ma-ma.”

Draco chuckled and Harry rolled his eyes. “Maybe he was talking to you.”

“Definitely not. I’m not his ‘mama’.” The Slytherin crossed his arms over his chest. The toddler confirmed this theory, when he looked up and repeated said word again, directly talking to Harry. That made Draco laugh and Harry shook his head.

Before they could do anything else, Andromeda walked in. She looked terrible, pale almost without living cells. She was trembling and her eyes were sunken in. Draco helped her to a chair.

“Are you okay, Andromeda?” Harry asked and rocked Teddy a little more.

Draco looked at Harry frowning. “Should we call a Healer?” After Harry nodded, Draco went to Andromeda’s room where she had kept the contact for her personal Healer. Meanwhile, Harry had put Teddy into his crib and cleaned up the mess inside the house.

Once the Healer was called and Draco was back checking on his aunt, Harry walked to the kitchen and cleaned that up as well, before starting breakfast. Draco walked in shortly after, holding Teddy and sat him down in his high chair.

“He kept calling ‘mama’ and you weren’t there” he said grinning.

Harry threw the tea towel at him and rolled his eyes. “Well, now you’re his ‘mama’ as well. You came when he called.”

“Definitely not, right Teddy?!” he asked the toddler and tickled him softly.

While his godson was laughing and happily playing with the Slytherin, Harry started looking for the tea towel he threw at the other man. From the corner of his eye, he saw Draco following his every move, so he turned around eventually.

“Draco, what did you do with the towel?”

“What towel?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “The one I threw at you for making a stupid remark.”

The Slytherin shrugged his shoulders and Harry sighed. He walked back, smacked the Slytherin lightly and playfully over the head and resumed cooking breakfast. Teddy was playing with a wooden spoon and Draco walked between the two rooms, checking up on Harry and Teddy, as well as on Andromeda. Harry was really happy, that he had decided to bring the other man with him. He wasn’t sure if he could have handled the situation alone. Teddy always needed a lot of attention and with Andromeda still being sick, he doubted he got that much of it.

The Healer arrived about thirty minutes later and Harry opened the door, while Draco played with Teddy and kept an eye on the stove. Harry led the older man to Andromeda and let him do whatever he needed to do.

When he walked back into the kitchen, he stopped at the door, surprised at what he saw. Teddy was explaining something in his not really understandable language, but Draco seemed to play along, asking questions, helping with vocabulary and sometimes tickling the toddler to make him laugh and giggle, whenever his hands came closer again.

While this had been going on for a while, Draco suddenly looked up and raised his eyebrows, probably questioning why Harry was standing in the doorway not doing anything. He smiled and checked the stove if everything was okay.

He placed the food on three normal plates and one plastic one, before placing them on the table. Harry realized quickly that Draco had fallen head over heels for the little toddler, even feeding him scrambled eggs, which Teddy loved.

He smiled at it and walked out of the kitchen, just as the Healer came to look for him. “She’s got a fever and not that much appetite. I’d say it’s some Muggle illness. It can turn either way: she might be sick for a while longer or she can get better almost immediately. There’s no telling” he explained after Harry asked how she was doing.

“So, what should we do?”

The Healer gave him a few potions and explained what she should take when and then added that it might be best to let the toddler stay someplace else. Harry nodded and as the Healer left and he turned to Draco, he saw him observing the situation carefully. Harry helped Andromeda back into her room and told her to get some sleep. He then came down again only to find the Slytherin and his godson playing in the living room. When he checked the kitchen he saw Draco’s plate still untouched.

He grabbed the golden plush Snitch and his godson. “Draco, I’m not letting you stay in here without having eaten breakfast. I swear, if it turns out I have to babysit you as well, I’ll put you in Teddy’s crib and put some charms around it, so you can’t get out.”

“You wouldn’t.” Draco sounded a little surprised, but definitely unsure whether or not Harry was joking.

“Try me.”

He sat his godson back into the high chair and gave him the plush Snitch. When he separated Andromeda’s plate into two portions and placed them on the other two plates, Draco snuck into the kitchen and sat down.

“If you ever put me into Teddy’s crib, I will hex you the moment you let me out” the Slytherin said with a dark expression. Said expression changed almost immediately into something Harry once again couldn’t decipher.

Harry chuckled and pushed a plate over to the scowling wizard. “You do realize that that doesn’t make it better, right? I might just throw you back inside and feed you through a bottle.”

He took milk out of the fridge and poured some into a plastic cup. “There you go.” He placed it in front of Draco, who jumped up and shoved him against the kitchen counter. Both were quiet for a second, surprised at how close they were and Harry averted his gaze to look at Teddy. There was suddenly a weird feeling in his stomach. And Draco had pushed him back and confined him between the counter and his own body, which Harry didn't mind as much as he probably should.

Finally, the weird tension in the air was gone and the Slytherin started talking again. “I’m not drinking milk out of a plastic cup! Stop making me sound and look like a baby!” He seemed really upset and Harry had to pull himself together, not to start laughing loudly.

“It’s not for you, you fool! I thought you liked to feed Teddy, now you can help him drink.”

Draco looked at him with a red face and sat down without saying another word, while Harry silently laughed and put the milk back inside the fridge.


	51. Thanks for a somewhat enjoyable Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the second day of Harry and Draco staying at Andromeda's.

Harry was in love. Definitely. He couldn’t get enough of seeing Draco and Teddy together. Teddy had started to love and trust Draco as much as he did Harry almost immediately. And yes, he probably should have been jealous of that, but he couldn’t be. Those two playing together was the sweetest and most pure thing in the entire world. Harry could not stop watching. He had never thought that Draco was able to be so open and happy, though he still looked sad sometimes, Teddy had a way to make him forget about everything else. Instead of making Draco do some of the chores, he decided to let him play with Teddy. That way he could look after Andromeda, do the meals and maybe clean up after the two resident children.

Once Sunday lunch was over and Harry had talked to Molly and made her take Teddy for a few days (which she had offered), Draco seemed to be a little sad again. Teddy was just sleeping and Harry sat at the kitchen table, researching a rare plant which was rumored to be extinct, yet still used for Amortentia, when the Slytherin walked in and wordlessly sat down next to him.

After a while, Harry looked up and frowned. “What’s going on?”

“I really don’t want to go back. It’s like heaven here and as soon as we’re back at Hogwarts, I have to fear for my life again” Draco explained starring at the pattern of the wooden table.

Unable to read more, Harry pushed his book away and shook his head. “You shouldn’t look at it that way…” Before he could say anything however, the fire place sounded and two seconds later, two Aurors stood in Andromeda’s living room

Teddy stirred with a shock and started crying. Harry and Draco were there immediately, he even flashed them an angry glare, before picking up his godson.

Draco was standing at the door frame, head bowed down, looking at the floor. The Aurors seemed to be happy, seeing him here and left without saying anything. Teddy hiccupped and Harry sat him down on his lap, cleaning his face and kissing the top of his head.

“It’s okay, Ted. They’re gone and it’s only us now.”

His godson calmed down rather quickly and as Harry rocked him to sleep and put him into his bed again, he looked at Draco, who had tears in his eyes.

“Draco, what’s… Are you…”

The Slytherin wasn’t talking, he had closed his eyes and bit his lips. He was trembling again and Harry saw a scary recollection to what happened in the bathroom a few nights ago. Without thinking much, he walked closer and pulled him into a hug again. He felt the other man’s resistance, how he tried to get out, but Harry didn’t let him. He had a feeling that he needed it right now. In fact, after a few seconds, he broke down and Harry dragged him to the kitchen, so Teddy could sleep in peace.

There, Draco was holding onto him as if his life depended on it. He was crying and trying to talk at the same time. Harry comforted him and quite like he would with Teddy, he rocked from side to side, keeping the Slytherin locked in his arms. It seemed to calm him down and after a few minutes, he was only hiding his face and had stopped shedding his tears. He was, however, still trembling and Harry was not going to let him go, if he wasn’t showing him that he was feeling ready.

His breathing had calmed down after some more minutes and a few moments later, he wiped his face and cleared his throat. “Sorry about that” he whispered, apparently not trusting his voice. Harry smiled at him and shook his head.

“Don’t be. Everyone breaks down from time to time” he repeated the exact words the Slytherin had said to him. It made the man in his arms smile weakly and Harry felt it was as good as any time, to let him go. He carefully tucked a blond strain of hair behind his ear and gave him an encouraging smile.

“Talk to me, Draco. What’s going on? What just happened?”

The blond wizard sat down on a chair and placed his head in the palm of his hand. He sighed and closed his eyes. He only opened them again, once Harry sat down on the opposite side of the table.

“Teddy woke up because of me. He started crying, he was scared, because those two Aurors walked into _his_ home and destroyed the peace. All because of me. If I wouldn't have been here, that would have never happened and he could have slept as long as he wanted to.”

Harry was moved by how much Draco cared for Teddy, that it made him emotional being the reason for him waking up.

“Draco, listen to me: I’m not going to argue with you, we both know you’re correct. But you need to know that I couldn’t have done this without you. And Teddy loves you; I think he would do anything for you. And when he wakes up again, he’s probably thinking those two weird men were just a dream. Don’t beat yourself up over something so meaningless.”

“It’s not…”

Harry placed his hand on Draco’s and squeezed it gently. It had the desired effect of stopping Draco from talking. Harry smiled at him and got up to get Andromeda some potions.

“If you want to be on Teddy’s good side – which you will always be, by the way – you should give him a banana to eat, he loves them.” With that he left the kitchen and walked up the stairs to Andromeda’s bedroom.

She looked a little better and Harry told her that Molly would come by this afternoon to take Teddy for a few days. She seemed to be happy about that. Harry decided to ask some of her friends to check in on her from time to time.

When he walked back down, he heard Draco and Teddy talking in the kitchen. He stopped at the door frame and looked inside. Teddy was happily munching a banana and talking to Draco who looked a little better than before. Harry decided not to interrupt their bonding time and snuck to the living room, packing Teddy’s things inside a bag for Molly to take with her. Looking at the wall clock, she should be coming over in about twenty minutes.

He turned around, when he felt watched and saw Draco and a smiling Teddy at his waist. “Hey, you could have called me.”

“I could. But who am I to take you away from my charming godson. I can spend more time with him, once I’ve finally graduated from Hogwarts” Harry smiled at them. He knew he had lost the fight. Draco was so lovingly with Teddy, it made him crush so much harder.

Well, that answered a question he had always had. He was definitely gay. No one in his life had ever made him feel the way, this Slytherin made him feel. He tried to think back when he was with Ginny and yes, she was amazing, but more like an amazing friend, just like Ron and Hermione. Whenever he was around Draco, it felt like time didn’t matter anymore. It was fantastic and scary. However, what really destroyed him at the moment was the picture in front of him. A clearly happy Teddy, laughing at him and Draco, who was looking down at the toddler, his hair falling into his face and a beautiful smile plastered over his lips. It did feel like… Harry couldn’t believe it. It felt like family. He needed to distract himself, he wasn’t even close enough to have a relationship with Draco and now he thought about a family?!

“So, Molly’s coming over in a few minutes. Maybe you already want to say goodbye to the love of your life” he said winking at him.

Draco blushed a little, but rolled his eyes. “I don’t think Teddy’s the love of my life.” With that he turned to the toddler in his arms. “Bye, bye Teddy.”

“Got an eye on anyone? Or are you supposed to turn a blind eye on anyone you could like, so that this marriage of yours is going to work?” Harry inquired and took over Teddy.

“Well, I would tell you, if you’d tell me your crush” Draco offered and grinned. There was something else in his eyes and Harry did not understand how he could suddenly not read the Slytherin anymore. He seemed to suspect something, which Harry thought was impossible; he had never let anything slip out.

He shook his head. “I told you, I would only tell you once I was feeling brave. And if I tell you now, there’s a chance Molly’d hear it too, accidentally. So, no.”

The Slytherin shrugged his shoulders. “In that case, I won’t tell you who I’m having a crush on.”

“So there is someone?!”

Shaking his head, the Slytherin walked back into the kitchen right when the fire place sounded and Molly walked out. Teddy wasn’t ready to go yet. He tried to stay with Harry and had suddenly very teary puppyeyes. Harry could calm him down and he saw something that looked suspiciously like pride in Molly’s eyes. She told him, that she’d be looking after Teddy until Andromeda was feeling better and that she’d be looking forward to seeing him on Christmas.

*

On Sunday evening, once Harry had contacted some of Andromeda’s friends, they went back to Hogwarts. Ready for two more weeks of studying before Christmas. Neither Harry nor Draco was looking forward for this. Not the two weeks of school nor the weeks after Christmas, where they definitely had to live without the other. However, Harry was not about to say the last thing.

Inside Hogwarts, he decided to go to McGonagall to tell her, that Andromeda wasn’t feeling well and what she would suggest for Teddy. For now, Molly was a good idea, but he didn’t want to stress that woman.

Before he could even walk around the corner, he heard someone shouting and a spell being cast. Acting on his instinct, he turned around, threw a protecting charm around Draco and cast three quick body-bind-hexes. Those three Slytherin girls finally needed to be punished for what they always did.

Draco was lying on the floor, covering his head, when Harry pulled him back on his feet. “What happened?” he asked and looked around.

“I decided to show McGonagall who keeps attacking you.”

“Can you please stop saving me, freaking Golden Boy?!” Draco said after a few seconds of silence, though it didn’t seem sincere.

Before Harry could say something, the headmistress already arrived. As she saw Harry and Draco and three Slytherin girls on the floor, she sighed and released the girls from their jinx.

“He’s fucking mental!” one girl immediately cried and pointed to Draco. “He attacked me! No one knows what he wanted to do to me!”

Harry instantaneously wanted to argue something, but Draco held him back and McGonagall spoke up in the Slytherin’s favor.

“Miss McGlivert, I doubt Mr. Malfoy had any intentions. I’ve known him for a while and he told me that he feared you three would use this as an excuse for when he would talk to authorities” her voice was calm and collected.

Harry turned to face Draco, who stared to the floor again. He couldn’t believe this! Why would they use something like that!?

“So you rather believe someone who already faced probation for another crime?! What kind of a person are you?!” the second girl said poisonous.

How could she accuse McGonagall of something like that?! If Draco actually happened to have done harm, she would have expelled him at once. All he had done this year was apologize to everyone he had hurt for everything, do better in classes, protect him from Zabini and yes okay, he locked said Slytherin inside the extreme-security, but no one really knew it was him. He had done nothing that indicated he was a criminal.

“I could ask you the same, Miss Alderton” the headmistress said calmly. “I will protect all my students the same way. It has been reported to me, that you three have been harassing Mr. Malfoy ever since he arrived back here. And even though he was cleared of all charges and simply has a probation of one year.”

Harry felt Draco’s calming touch on his arm. It covered the area, where he would normally hurt himself. That man knew him well enough and it warmed his heart, even though they were in a tricky situation, right now.

It was quiet for a while and Harry saw out of the corner of his eye, that Hermione and Ron had arrived and slowly walked closer. The headmistress apparently had a staring contest with the three disrespectful Slytherins. Harry was standing a little in front of Draco, trying to protect him from any spells.

“He’s a traitor! He should be in Azkaban with his father and everyone who didn’t do the right thing in the war!” the third girl spoke up.

“I see” McGonagall answered neutral. “Miss Buchanan, I believe I’ve seen you during the Battle of Hogwarts. On the _other_ side. You were allowed to stay at Hogwarts after the war, since you were underaged and had supposedly left the castle already. I believe I only need to call for the Ministry and have you arrested. Though that would ruin your life. I suppose you could always try your luck abroad.”

They were all confused as to what the headmistress referred, but she clarified it almost immediately.

“Miss Buchanan, Miss Alderton and Miss McGlivert, you are all hereby expelled. For repeatedly attacking a student on probation, even though you received detention multiple times you don’t seem to learn from it. Please leave the school before morning, I will write your parents right away.” With that she cast a spell over Draco and Harry and turned around to walk away.

The three girls glared at Draco, and Harry felt the Slytherin instinctively hide behind him, though his hand rested on Harry’s arm.

“You did not just get us expelled!” the girl named Alderton said, her eyes almost as red as fire. She raised her wand and was just about to throw a spell, when an unseen force pulled her back and threw her to the floor. The other two girls pulled her back to her feet and ran off.

His two best friends walked closer and Harry saw the three marauders peering out of the room closest to them. “What just happened, Harry?” Hermione asked and looked at the girls turning a corner.

“They attacked him again and McGonagall just expelled them” Harry explained.

Ron nodded. “Yeah, mate. I heard that. How are you feeling, Ma… Draco?”

“A little better, to be honest. If you guys could now manage to expel Zabini, I’d feel even better” he smiled weakly. Harry rolled his eyes as he turned around. Ron laughed and shook his head and Hermione gave him an encouraging smile.

“How are your parents, ‘Mione?”

The witch grinned at Harry. “They’re doing extremely good! The mediwitches think they can be released after Christmas and New Year.”


	52. You might run out of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wonders why Draco is called to Slughorn and McGonagall decides to leave him no choice.

It was another Tuesday. Draco was called to Slughorn in the middle of double Herbology. Harry hated him for that. He wanted to be freed from this lesson as well! However, maybe not like Draco was. Sirius had told him, that when Zabini had attacked him, he had convinced McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey not to give him the normal Dreamless Sleep Potion which he was incredibly thankful for. However, maybe Slughorn didn’t see it that way.

Once Harry had finished checking up on his plants – which all died over the weekend – he waited for Hermione, Ron and Neville, even though he didn’t want to. Hermione and Ron were only talking about her parents and how they couldn’t wait for them to live their normal lives again. Yes, he understood, however, he felt a little out of place. And Neville, he was just going to talk about all his plants. They didn’t die just like his. So, yes. Not really the crowd he wanted to stay with. At least not now.

In DADA, Draco was also nowhere to be seen. Harry sat down at an empty table and opened his book about laws and rules for the magical society. Bellchant had stopped giving them practical assignments and decided that maybe they needed some more theoretical knowledge. Hermione appreciated it, but Harry hated it.

Finally, when Harry entered the Great Hall for lunch with the marauders in tow, he saw Draco at the Ravenclaw table, playing chess with Luna. Harry frowned and walked over there, Sirius, James and Remus followed him immediately.

“Hey guys, everything okay?” he asked curiously as to why Draco had to leave and talk to Slughorn.

Draco grinned and destroyed Luna’s chance to win the game. “Quite alright, how about you?”

Harry shook his head. “Why did Slughorn want to talk to you?”

The marauders looked rather surprised, but started eating lunch. When the Slytherin turned to Harry, he was grinning broadly and shrugged his shoulders. “He examined my potion and called the National Potions’ Board…”

“There is such a thing?” Harry interrupted him and received a raised eyebrow in return, which made him stay quiet rather quickly. He saw James looking at him very amused, even Sirius couldn’t bite back a smirk.

Draco continued, apparently oblivious to the marauder’s actions. “They also looked at my potion and took Slughorn’s notes into consideration. Now, they want to do some tests with it and if my potion’s passing them all, it’s going to take the current Dreamless Sleep Potion’s place.” He made a short pause, as if he wanted to give Harry time to think about what he just said. “My potion could become the official potion they’ll use in St. Mungo’s!”

“Are you kidding me?! That’s amazing!” Harry laughed and shook his head.

“Congratulations!” James and Remus said at the same time.

“You’re the man!” Sirius yelled out and Harry hid his face in his hands. They just didn’t know when to stop, did they?!

Draco only chuckled and grabbed something to eat. “By the way, you probably don’t want to go into our dormitory tonight. I’ve seen something interesting that Hermione got for a little special time for her and Ron, if you’re catching on to what I’m saying.”

“I know about that already. Ron told me so during breakfast. And I really didn’t want to know!” Harry rolled his eyes. How the Slytherin found out about it, he didn’t know. He also had no idea what he should do right now or where he should stay.

Lunch was rather quiet, Hermione and Ron missing completely and Harry really didn’t want to think about why. However, Draco was back and that was good enough, maybe even better. They brought the marauders to Herbology together and walked back into the castle, to get to the Transfiguration lessons. Hermione and Ron were already standing in front of the door, looking a little disheveled, glowing and at the same time embarrassed.

Harry sighed and shook his head. There were multiple reasons for him to sigh. First of all, what the hell did they think they were doing? It was lunch time! Secondly, how could they have such a great relationship and rub it under his nose everywhere he went?! Thirdly, he wanted what they had.

“Is everything okay?” he heard the Slytherin ask next to him.

He had forgotten that Draco was next to him and probably seen all of his non-verbal language. Harry shrugged with his shoulders.

“It's nothing. Just tired and I wish for our Christmas break to be here sooner rather than later.”

Draco shook his head. “That’s interesting, because I’m looking forward for my Christmas break being _over_ sooner than later.”

Harry laughed and rolled his eyes. “That is actually your problem. I couldn’t care less.”

“That hurt, you Bloody Boy Who Lived Twice. I thought you liked people like me!”

“No.” Harry paused and grinned at the Slytherin. “I just like you.” That was probably a little too much on the flirting side, but for now he didn’t care.

The Slytherin blushed a little and Harry looked to the crowd in front of the Transfiguration classroom. Today was the last lesson, well no. They still had a double tomorrow, but Rabnott had told them that today they would discuss the Animagi-business. When the door opened, they stormed inside. Rabnott stood in front and asked who was trying to become an Aminagus. Everyone except Fay and Seamus had apparently decided to try it, though Anthony and Padma didn’t look all that sure of their decision.

“Now, who knows how this process works?” he asked and Fay’s, Hermione’s and Draco’s hands shot in the air. Harry smirked. Rabnott chose Hermione, who explained it in great fashion. She had apparently also researched the potion and explained it as well.

Next to Harry, Draco was shifting in his chair and clearly couldn’t hold back a comment any longer. “I knew about the potion as well.”

Harry smirked at Draco and turned back to the lesson.

“On January, the second, you all take a mandrake leaf into your mouth, do not – I repeat – _do not_ swallow it. If you do, you have to start over, which in this case means, not during your Hogwarts years. You will do the potion with Professor Slughorn, I will be there as well to help you transforming. This leaf is an important piece of your potion, as Miss Granger had explained so well.” He gave everyone who wanted to become an Animagus a leaf and the lesson returned to a book about Animagi.

When they left the room, there was suddenly a huge commotion outside and Harry was pushed to the side, right into the Slytherin. Draco caught himself at the wall, and pulled him towards himself. Suddenly, time stood still. Both just looking at each other, Harry held his breath. What was going on? There was something special in Draco's eyes. How had he never realized that the Slytherins grey eyes had a very small bluish circle around the pupil? As if both were realizing they were in the middle of an open corridor, they let go at the same time and continued their way to charms as if nothing had happened. And really, nothing had happened, right?

This moment felt extremely unrealistic. What had just happened? Harry avoided eye contact with the Slytherin for the entirety of the next lesson. At the very end, some scared second year, walked up to him and gave him a parchment scroll. He was off as soon as the parchment had left his hands.

Hermione and Ron looked over his shoulders, as he opened it. It was a message from McGonagall, saying that she would like to speak with him as soon as possible.

He sighed and walked to the headmistress’ office. He knocked and entered as soon as he heard her calling.

“Ah, Potter. Close the door, please.” Harry suddenly felt a little intimidated. There was apparently something important happening. The headmistress turned around and opened a file, she had on her table.

“So, I think it’s important that we talk about this” she started and cleared her throat. “I have decided that I will not give you a choice anymore.”

Harry frowned. What was going on? When had she ever given him a choice for anything? McGonagall seemed to realize that she was talking in riddles and smiled at him.

“I have decided to put you into therapy. You can feel good and powerful, but I think it is important that you try and deal with your feelings. Now more than ever, with your father and his friends being here” she explained.

Harry exhaled and nodded. It was probably a good time to tell her that he was already seeing a Mind Healer. “Professor McGonagall, I’m already in therapy.”

She frowned and looked at the pile of parchments, probably a list of all the students who had a Mind Healer.

“I’ve been seeing Angelica White ever since… the end of October, I think” Harry defined the time.

The head teacher frowned and stood up. “Please forgive me for my doubt, but I think I would like for your Mind Healer to confirm this.”

Harry nodded and got up as well. He saw her being a little surprised, when he led her out of the office. They walked towards the Hospital Wing and in the end, McGonagall ended up knocking at the door. Luckily, no one else was in there, so Angelica had time to talk with them.

His Mind Healer had been incredibly polite, offered tea and cookies and explained to the headmistress that Harry was indeed one of her clients. She showed her his file and McGonagall looked through it, carefully.

Harry was once again happy that he had only revealed things McGonagall already knew about him. Well, maybe except for what he wanted to do in the future. He wasn’t so sure himself.

“I see. Well, in that case I am happy that you apparently listened to my suggestion.” Harry nodded and decided not to tell her that he had started visiting Angelica, because Draco made him.

There was one bit, where McGonagall seemed to be stuck. Harry was suddenly really nervous. Which part did she want to talk to him about? The abuse he had suffered from his relatives? He hadn’t even told Angelica everything. Or maybe he had, he couldn’t remember. Maybe it was something about his father and friends. Maybe he wasn’t allowed to say something about their status. But he remembered Angelica saying that everything they discussed would be staying in this room. He wasn’t even sure if McGonagall was actually allowed to read the files. It seemed a bit… weird.

When he looked over to Angelica, she smiled at him encouragingly. A smile, which he returned.

“Potter, it states here, that you don’t know yet what to do with your future. You know, you could always start early with your teaching.”

So it happened. The thing, Harry had always been a little scared of, had happened right now. At least Angelica was in the room with them. How was he supposed to tell the headmistress that he didn’t want to come back to Hogwarts?

He bit his lower lip, before answering. “Professor, I think I should look for something outside of Hogwarts. I… I would like to start a calm life, without being reminded of what happened to me.”

That was actually rather easy. He looked at McGonagall, hoping that she’d also agree with him and not that she thought he was weird. Both things could happen. No, actually, she had always been in his corner.

It seemed that this was the case now, as well. “I almost suspected something like this. Well, I don’t blame you. Have you figured out what you’d like to do later?”

Harry shook his head, happy that she seemed to understand. They stayed in Angelica’s office for a while, before McGonagall decided to go back to her post as head teacher.

When Harry wanted to leave Angelica’s office, she stopped him quickly. “Harry, I want you to know, that everything we discuss stays between us. I’m only writing a summary of the topics, which I have to present to the headmistress. I hope you understand that everything you’ve asked me to keep a secret, I would never give away.” 

He smiled at her and nodded. “I understand. Thank you!”

Angelica smiled as well and he walked outside, where he almost crashed into a certain Slytherin, who was undoubtedly on his way to work in the infirmary.

“Hey” Draco looked at the door, where Harry had just walked out. “I thought you only had sessions on Mondays and Thursdays?!”

Harry grinned. “I do.” He thought about walking away without explaining, but decided to tell him what happened. “McGonagall had decided that I was to visit a Mind Healer. I told her I’d already had one and she wanted to know if I was saying the truth.”

“All thanks to me!” Draco grinned and winked at him, which made Harry roll his eyes.

“No thanks to you.”

Draco grinned and shoved Harry a few steps back. Harry turned towards the Hospital Wing. “Do you need some help with working your hours off?”

“I doubt you’d be actual help, Potter.”

“That makes two of us” Harry grinned and dodged another attack of the Slytherin.

"By the way, I'm still trying to find a secret about you or something" Draco smirked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "There's no secret to be found. You know everything I've been hiding or that I am hiding from other people." Except for this one huge ass secret which he was not going to tell him. At least not now.

The blond wizard laughed and walked into the infirmary, without saying anything. When he closed the door, however, he was looking through the crack until it was gone. Harry had been smiling at him all throughout.


	53. You might be small Time, but you’re still important

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes shopping for Christmas gifts and Draco still tries to make him confess something.

Shopping for Christmas gifts wasn’t easy. It was even more difficult, since Harry had to find another gift for his Secret Santa. He had already ordered his Christmas gift for Neville, that one had been easy, though a little expensive. But it was definitely worth the price.

Now he had bought Arthur a little model train set, which was probably too much, but he knew the man would love it. For George he had a small book for some joke inspirations, though he wasn’t sure if he was going to swap it for something else later.

Hermione would get a book for the rarest charms in existence, which he was sure she already knew about. But it also explained how to work them and maybe it would give her an Outstanding in Charms, though she definitely didn’t need his help for it.

For Ron, he had asked for George’s help and they had created a small necklace that could turn invisible with a simply incantation and that would show dark magic by glowing dark red, since he still wanted to become an Auror and Hermione wasn’t all that happy about it. That way, he could be safer than before.

It was the easiest for Bill and Fleur, as he could gift them baby clothes and they would be happy about that. He just needed it to be gender neutral, since he had no idea if it was a girl and a boy. Oh, and it also needed to be stylish, so he had asked Draco for help and he of course, couldn’t resist that. In the end, he would have probably bought the whole store, if Draco hadn’t reined him in and asked which of the clothes he had liked the most and they had only bought those.

Also fairly easy was probably a present for Charlie. The only problem was that it shouldn’t necessarily be a dragon. Molly would probably be beheading him, if he was giving her son a dragon and yes, he could definitely see why. So he had settled for a book about rare dragons in Siberia, which could apparently manipulate the temperature around them, so when they were being hunted, they weren’t found easily.

Teddy would get a magical toy rabbit that hopped around and helped him walk, if he ever wanted to get some place. And if he was bold, he could also ride it and pet it. It was basically a walking help, with a combination of being the very first pet, that couldn’t get hurt, bite back or die. And Harry liked the color and life it projected.

The hardest people to buy gifts for were Molly, Percy, Ginny and Draco. Yes, he was most certainly going to buy Draco a present. He also wanted to buy something small for the entire eighth year, but he had no idea what.

The present for entire eighth year, he found with a little help from George, who presented him with a game. It was rather innocent, though you could play it with additional rules, as a drinking game or strip poker. The game was about how well you knew a person and it seemed to be a rather good idea for the eighth year students who had started to like each other (every rule has an exception, thank you Zabini).

He decided that for Percy, he was just going to buy the bestselling book in the book store. It happened to be named _Visions of Victory_ , luckily it wasn’t about the war, but a fictional story.

There was a crazy idea in his head for a present for Ginny, but he decided to do it. So he walked into the Quidditch shop and bought the brand new broom, which had just come out a few days ago. She wanted to play Quidditch professionally, now she had the broom for it!

For Neville’s second Secret Santa gift, he had bought a big package of sweets as well as some sweets for frogs, which Harry thought was a little weird, but why not?!

So, that left Molly and Draco. These two people gave him the most trouble, though not for the same reason, obviously. 

He had just walked around a shop, when he stopped dead in his tracks and looked back into the window. There was a big statue of a dragon in bluish colored glass, in the middle of take off. His wings were spread wide, his head looking to the sky and his tail drew a circle around his feet. He was standing on the very top of a volcano, the glass projecting fire underneath was charmed to glint in different red colors. It was beautiful, majestic, amazing and every other adjective Harry could think of. Without hesitation, he went inside, bought it and shrunk it so it would fit into his pocket.

And Molly. Well, he just had a very sweet idea and bought a normal cup for tea. He was going to charm it, so that every morning, it would show another loving or motivational message, so that her day was going to start happy and energetic.

“And that’s that.” Harry sighed, finally apparating to the Three Broomstick, where he had decided to meet up with Hermione, Ron and Draco, who were doing their very own Christmas shopping.

He was the very first of them to arrive and sat down at a table at the very end, keeping an eye on the door. Just as he got his Butterbeer, Draco walked in, smiling at him, once he saw him. Since it was Wednesday, they had taken the time to go to Hogsmeade, and Harry had secretively apparated to Diagon Alley.

When he saw the Slytherin, Harry remembered that Draco had made it his mission to get a secret out of him as of lately. He could have said anything really, but he didn’t feel like it.

“Hey there, calinours” Draco said and grinned when Harry rolled his eyes. “So, what did you get, once I stopped you from buying all the baby clothes? And please don’t tell me, you went back inside and bought more!”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “No, I didn’t and I got everything I wanted and I even ordered the Christmas present for Neville, which should arrive by owl in two or three days and I really hope it will!” He looked at the Slytherin a bit closely. “And you? Did you get all you wanted?”

Draco shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the Butterbeer he got. “Pretty much. I’m excited for Christmas, but not for the actual Christmas, you know… having to spend it at home.”

“Sorry about that.”

Draco smiled at him and Harry knew that there was nothing he could do to make him feel better. Well, maybe there was, but he just couldn’t think of anything.

Before their discussion could continue, a dark shadowlike figure, which was definitely here for their soul, appeared next to them. Actually, it was just Zabini. He stared at them both and Harry decided to glare back.

“You got my friends expelled!” he said in a dangerous voice.

Harry knew he was talking to Draco, but he had to say something. “Well, they attacked _my_ friend. Maybe you should choose yours a little better.”

His plan had worked, now the Slytherin fixated him with a sinister look. “Maybe I should just destroy your life beyond recognition.”

“Bad plan, Zabini. I’m sure you remember who you’re talking to. I’m the Boy Who Lived Twice” he said, putting an emphasis on every word of his stupid name. “Whatever I say to a reporter or do in front of paparazzi, will be printed tomorrow. Even though I don’t like to throw my name around, I’ll do it to keep my friends and family safe.” By this time he was standing and looking directly into Zabini’s eyes. “So, please, go ahead. Say whatever you want. I assure you that if you hurt anyone, you’ll regret it.”

“You should know that this looks like a fucking date! So have fun being a… a…” he seemed to draw blank on an insult.

“So what if it is?! Thanks anyway” he knew his eyes would twinkle with mischief and that any sane person would realize he was joking, but the Slytherin jumped back and stared at him disgusted. “You should really learn how to read body language, Zabini. Am I not allowed to be friends with Draco Malfoy?”

Without saying anything, the Slytherin walked out and Harry sat back down. Draco looked at him surprised and laughed out loud then. “I’d never thought you would stand up to people like that.”

“Well, for the people I like, Draco, I'd do pretty much anything” he corrected, smiling into his Butterbeer.

“Thank you.”

They talked about presents, Teddy and school in general, until Hermione and Ron finally walked in and sat down at their table. Ron ordered two more Butterbeers and Hermione showed the Secret Santa gift she had bought for Millicent – warm woolen socks, which have been charmed to warm feet as quickly as possible.

*

Walking up to the castle, Harry walked quietly next to Draco. Hermione and Ron had decided to visit another shop, so they would be following a few minutes later. Or maybe hours, depending on how much the witch would love that shop. Draco had been rather quiet for the last few minutes and Harry was wondering why. He didn’t have to wonder any more after a few more minutes, as Draco started talking slowly.

“I’m still trying to get a secret out of you, you know.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “You should really stop trying. You’d never find one.” Except for the one, that he had a huge crush on him. But he wasn’t going to tell him that secret. If he wanted to know that one, he had to work a little harder.

The Slytherin laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “You know, I have been trying to get a secret out of you, since I was eleven! Though I think my motivation behind getting said secret has changed.”

“I sure hope so!” Harry smiled and looked at the ground. He was feeling rather brave lately, the stand-off with Zabini had given him some extra bravery and he stopped and turned around to look if there was anyone around who could hear this secret. Maybe he could start hinting on something. Or rather reveal something huge. But not his crush. Not today.

Draco had also stopped and looked at him surprised. “Wait, that actually worked? Are you going to tell me a secret?! I should have just said something like that all those years!”

Harry, who had taken a deep breath to finally tell Draco something, started laughing and shook his head. “No, Draco. I don’t think that would have worked _all those years_ ago.” He chuckled and smiled at him.

Since he wasn’t going to say anything, the Slytherin raised his eyebrows, patiently waiting for the secret Harry wanted to share. Though, right now he wasn’t sure if he should share it. It was totally out of context and made no sense. Maybe he needed to start earlier in his life…

“Okay… you might have to be patient. My secret has a little bit of a back story.” Draco nodded and stayed quiet. Harry wasn’t sure whether he liked that or not. However, instead of pondering over what he liked and what not, he decided to just start.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment and started… very, very far away from where his story was going to end. “So, I’ve never really been able to make my own decisions. From my early life, I’ve always been told what to do. That I needed to behave normally, because I already was a pain in their ass. I’ve never figured out that I might not be as normal as anyone wants me to be. And… and being normal also meant to… to have a normal relationship. I-In my case with a girl and I… I…” Harry had no idea how to end his speech. He stared at the snow in front of them, when Draco finally spoke up.

“Harry, are you… are you telling me you’re bisexual?” he asked carefully.

Harry shook his head, not looking at him. “I’m saying that I never knew I was… I…” He rubbed his face with his hands and turned around to walk a few steps. He couldn’t do it. How...?! He couldn’t just leave Draco hanging. He needed to finish his secret and he needed it to be done _now_!

“ImtellingyouthatImgay” he said quickly as he turned around and faced the Slytherin again.

It was quiet for a second and Harry already suspected that Draco was going to abandon their friendship, when he saw a small smirk on the other man’s face.

“What? Can you… could you maybe say that a little slower, please?”

“I’m gay” Harry said so quietly, he almost whispered it. He was not going to look at the Slytherin, though he didn’t know why. Draco had already told him, that he was gay, so why was it so hard for him right now?

Once Harry dared to raise his head, the blond wizard grinned and threw some blond strains of hair out of his face. “You look like I’d be about to punch you in the face for telling me your secret. What makes you think I’d be anything else but supportive?!”

“I honestly don’t know. It’s just… I haven’t told anyone.”

“Not even Hermione or Ronald?” Draco inquired and Harry shook his head.

“In that case, thank you for telling me. And maybe we should talk crushes! I mean, you said you were interested in someone, I only always assumed it was a girl, so…” His eyes glinted with excitement and Harry shook his head vehemently. When he looked at Draco again, there was once again this weird look in his eyes. What did it mean?!

“Do not set me up with someone! My father and his friends are already doing that, I don’t need two parties setting me up with someone.”

Draco grinned and shoved him a little. “Because you already have your eye on someone, be honest!”

Harry swallowed and rolled his eyes. “No, I don’t.”

“Harry Potter, you might be The Boy Who Lived Twice, but you’re a terrible liar. Well, I got this secret out of you, I’ll get the other one out eventually.”


	54. Living Life one Step at a Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets interesting news from Draco, as well as from Andromeda.

“Harry!” Draco stormed into the room. It was shortly after dinner on Thursday right before Christmas break. They only needed one more day and then they were free!

Harry jumped from his bed; he had studied some fancy owl treats that he had gotten from his Secret Santa, but now that the Slytherin was here and waving a letter in front of him, it seemed something else was more important than the owl treats.

“What’s that?” he asked curious and pointed to the letter.

Draco smiled broadly and threw the letter into his lap. “It’s from Jessie Appleton.”

“Jessie… what?” Harry frowned, before he remembered. The letter Draco wrote to that woman whose brother travelled into the future after or rather before he died, but he ended up being there after he actually died. He had read her entire book in two days. And it had really helped him gaining some strength back.

He looked at the letter, which had not been opened yet. Their fingers touched for a mini second as Draco handed it to him and made Harry forget everything about the letter. He stared down and tried to normalize his breathing again. Then he realized the closed letter. “You didn’t read it?”

Draco shook his head. “No. When I saw it, I came to find you immediately. It’s more for you, anyway, isn’t it?”

Harry took a deep breath and opened it carefully. He then decided to read it out aloud. Yes, it probably was for him, but Draco wrote the initial letter and it was addressed to him.

> _Dear Mr. Malfoy_
> 
> _I was surprised to hear from you and the content of your letter was even more astonishing. Yes, it was daunting to see my once dead brother standing in front of me as if out of a memory and finding out that he was from the past distressed me quite a bit. Nevertheless, the time spent together is one of my most cherished memories._
> 
> _From your description it isn’t hard to figure out that the friend you’re referring to is Harry Potter (yes, even though I don’t live in the UK anymore, I like to stay up to date with the news in my home country). I would very much like to meet with him and help with all the knowledge I have surrounding this topic, though I would suggest we’d meet in January, as we all might have a little more time then._
> 
> _You also asked me to keep this quiet and I will assure you that I do not like to talk with journalists and that they let me in peace ever since I moved away from London. I will be staying in the UK until the 10th January, please let me know when you would like to meet up._
> 
> _All the best wishes_
> 
> _Jessie Appleton_

Harry sat there, staring at the letter and after a while raised his head to look at Draco, who had a faint smile on his lips.

“I can’t believe you actually wrote her!” he said after a few minutes. The Slytherin grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, I can’t believe she actually wrote back!” he answered and sat down on his own bed.

Harry chuckled and pulled out a parchment. “So, when do you have time?” Draco frowned and was just about to say something, when Harry cut him off. “I’m not going there alone. And if you think you can’t come with me, I’ll just have to convince Kingsley, that I can’t do it without you and that you orchestrated everything, so you have to come with me.”

It was quiet for a minute, before Draco laughed and fell on his back. “Only bloody Harry Potter would try to convince the Minister of Magic to let a Death Eater on probation walk around Muggle London.”

“Former Death Eater, Malfoy!” Harry shook his head as Draco looked up. “And when do you have time?”

“Always.”

Harry winced a little. Snape had said ‘always’ to Dumbledore’s question, if he still loved Lily after all this time. There were suddenly so many emotions in his heart that he needed a little time to calm down again.

Harry distracted himself by counted the days and realized that the 10th January was a Sunday. “How about the 9th? That’s a Saturday.”

Draco nodded and Harry jumped up and walked to the Common Room to write back a letter, while the Slytherin closed his eyes and seemed to relax.

In the Common Room, there was just pure chaos. However, it didn’t feel like a whirlwind chaos, but rather like a loveable mess. Basically all the girls occupied the sofas and arm chairs surrounding the fire place. They were talking about the Christmas holidays and whether or not they should meet up some time during the holidays for a girl’s night. However, they were extremely loud as everyone seemed to want to say what was on their mind. On the other side of the room, there was a competition going on of two teams playing exploding snap against each other. If the girls were loud, they were screaming at each other. And then, there was a whole Christmas station, where people could wrap their presents, kiss under a mistletoe and sing Muggle Christmas songs. And yes, there were a few pureblood wizards trying to sing those songs, laughing at the lyrics and failing miserably at making it beautiful. But it was heartfelt. And there were also some Muggle born wizards and witches, trying to keep the mess together, but failing even more spectacularly. 

And then there were a few people, who seemed to be willing to work. Namely, Neville and Dean, who sat at a table, surrounded by a silencing charm. Harry grinned and walked to their table, sitting down.

“Hey Harry” Neville greeted him, as he walked through the charm and sat down. “Are you actually working?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “To be honest, I’m just here to write a letter. And you guys already had the silencing charm up, so I thought I’d join you.”

Dean laughed. “I see. And people think you’re selfless!”

“Yeah, I have no idea where that myth came from” he grinned and started to write back to Jessie Appleton, suggesting the 9th January for a meet up.

Suddenly, Ron charged into the room and everyone was quiet, either out of shock or because the rest was quiet as well. Neville let the silencing charm down and they looked at him waiting for him to gain back his breathing.

“Guys, McGonagall just agreed to a Quidditch match for tomorrow! It’s Slytherin against Hufflepuff and they’re freaking out.” No one seemed to understand where this was going. Yes, there were a lot of Quidditch matches, however, not so late in the year and shortly before Christmas. “There’s a huge betting pool! People can win up to fifty Galleons!” he managed to breathe out and with those words people started yelling and making bets themselves. Harry laughed and finished the letter rather quickly. He really didn’t want to be betting on Slytherin against Hufflepuff. The snakes were probably going to win this. He left the Common Room in a hurry to send the letter as quickly as possible. 

When he came back, the discussion’s topic hadn’t changed one bit. Grinning, he walked down to his Dormitory, where he found Draco still lying on his bed, tough wide awake. His hands were under his head, which made his shirt ride up a little and Harry couldn’t stop staring. He would have definitely seen more if he had moved closer, but scared that the Slytherin would see or hear him, he just stood there, looking at the white patch of skin he could see.

Suddenly, the door was pulled open and Ron basically ran over him, throwing him to the floor. Draco, startled up by the noise, laughed when he saw the two Gryffindors lying on the floor.

“What the hell happened to you?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Harry couldn’t say anything and was also a little too embarrassed, as Ron started talking quickly. “Why would you stand right at the door, mate?! Next time put a warning sign at the outside!”

Feeling caught, Harry walked to his bed, not looking at Draco for even a second and opened his trunk, so he could hide his obvious red face inside it. He wasn’t looking for anything specific, but he would just take something out of there, once he would feel the temperature in his face cooling again.

Ron seemed to be oblivious to everything, since he turned to Draco and grinned. “There’s another Quidditch game and we’re betting, are you in?”

Draco was quiet, probably frowning. “Who’s playing?”

“Hufflepuff and Slytherin.”

“I don’t think I should be betting when Slytherin’s involved” he said quietly.

Ron seemed to understand. “Suit yourself.”

Before his best friend could leave, Draco called him out on something, which even made Harry look up, though he wasn’t sure if the color in his face had resolved. “Hey, Ron? You’re my Secret Santa, aren’t you?”

“Wh-What? Why would you say that? My… my Secret Santa’s... Hanna” he stuttered. Harry had to bite back a grin. It was absolutely not obvious that Ron was lying. Definitely not. Well, maybe to a child. No, even a child would realize that something wasn’t quite alright.

Draco sat up and grinned at him. “That’s funny, because I have been shopping with Fay, who claimed that _her_ Secret Santa’s Hanna. Also, that’s the second time I got something from your brother’s shop and, don’t get me wrong, I like it and it’s amazing, but I know these items are expensive and the only person who would get them a little cheaper would be you.”

“Well, I sometimes get them for free” Harry argued and shrugged his shoulders. He saw Draco roll his eyes and raised his eyebrows.

“On whose side are you? Mine or Ron’s?”

Harry couldn’t do anything but laugh. “Just ignore me. I’m on no one’s side.” When he saw Ron’s accusing look, he held up his hands in surrender. “How can I decide between my two amazing friends?!”

He did notice how Draco’s look lingered on him a little longer, before he turned back to Ron, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. It could mean nothing.

“Man, I… I really am _not_ your Secret Santa! I just don’t want to tell you who mine is” Ron tried to talk himself out of it.

“Because I’m the one” the Slytherin finished the sentence, shrugging his shoulders.

His best friend seemed to get a little bit frustrated. “No, because you would probably tell said person that it’s me.”

Draco grinned. “Really? That’s how much you trust me? Thank goodness for Harry trusting me more than that. Otherwise, I would have never found out about his father and friends.”

“Well technically, you followed me to the Shrieking Shack and James was stupid enough to respond to his own name” Harry interrupted the discussion between his friends.

“Potter” the Slytherin turned to face him, with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. “If you don’t want to be part of a discussion, stay quiet! The adults are talking!”

Ron looked like he was about to get extremely angry at Draco, but Harry just started laughing and shrugged his shoulders, which made his best friend frown in confusion.

“Okay, Draco: Hermione’s my Secret Santa.”

The blond wizard shook his head. “Well, I know the real person who’s Hermione’s Secret Santa and it’s not you. You know, with every try, it’s getting more unlikely that you’re somebody else’s Secret Santa. Just acknowledge that I’m smart and I figured it out before Christmas.”

Ron was not about to do that, but walked out silently, which made both men grin.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re as bright as a button, Malfoy” Harry grinned and pulled out the Secret Santa gift for Neville. Then, he walked over to the bedside table and grabbed the marauder’s map. Draco followed his every move, which made him a little uncomfortable, but he winked at him, when he left the room.

*

It was a while after midnight, when Harry was awoken by Kreacher. He wasn’t all that quiet, as Draco woke up as well.

“McGonagall summoned Master Harry.” Harry groaned, but sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Kreacher turned towards Draco and addressed him as well, while Harry grabbed his glasses. “Mr. Draco go too.” With that he was gone.

Harry frowned. “What is that all about?”

The Slytherin shrugged his shoulders and grabbed some cloths which he pulled over his pajamas. Harry followed his example and they walked through the quiet and abandoned Common Room up to McGonagall’s office. They heard a crying baby and Harry wasn’t quite sure, but he would have bet it was Teddy. He frowned and saw how Draco did so as well. Before he could knock, the door was opened, by McGonagall herself.

“Thank goodness, you both are here” she gestured to Molly Weasley who was holding a crying Teddy in her arms, trying everything to calm him down.

Before asking anything, Harry walked over and grabbed his godson, who immediately snuggled into his embrace and calmed down enough not to cry so loud again. Harry sat down in a chair and rocked the small boy a little, to calm him down even further.

Both, McGonagall and Molly seemed to be surprised how easy it was for him to calm down the crying toddler. When his eyes swept over Draco, he saw a warm smile on his face and Harry turned to Teddy, smiled and kissed the top of his head.

“Professor, what is this about?” Draco repeated Harry’s question and the headmistress sighed heavy hearted.

“I’ve just been informed that Andromeda Tonks died a few hours ago” she said quietly. Harry stopped rocking Teddy and looked at the woman with wide eyes. That couldn't be true, could it?

“She… she died? Why?” He thought about how she was behaving the last time he had visited her. “I mean, she didn’t look all that good, but… dying?”

McGonagall nodded. “The Healer suspected she couldn’t get over her daughter’s death and her grandson reminded her too much of her.”

Harry stroked lovingly over Teddy’s red hair and started rocking him again, which clearly made him sleepy. The little man was awake way past bed time and Harry knew that if he was awake, all you had to do was calm him down and he would sleep right away.

“So… she died because of it?” Draco asked a little careful.

“People can die from broken hearts, Mr. Malfoy. It’s not that common, but still happens from time to time” the headmistress admitted.

Still stroking his godson’s hair, Harry had to ask a question that pained him extremely. “What happens to Teddy, now?”

McGonagall seemed to hesitate. “Well, Remus and Tonks made you godfather, in case anything would happen to them. Andromeda was just going to take over until you finished Hogwarts, then she would have asked you if you were willing to… to adopt him, but if you…”

“Yes” Harry interrupted her quickly. He knew it wasn’t polite, but he didn’t even want to hear what would happen to Teddy if he wasn’t going to adopt him. He was going to do it. He loved him already as if he was his own son and he couldn’t think of life without this happy little man.

“Potter, this is not a decision you should take lightly. It takes time to figure out if this is something that you really want or if you’d rather focus on your career” McGonagall said sternly.

Harry nodded. “I know. But I was going to ask Andromeda, if she’d be okay with me adopting Teddy. I love him and I don’t want him to be given to some stranger.” _He’s mine_ , he thought and gave the toddler another kiss on the top of his head. Teddy smiled in his half sleep.

He got unexpected back up from Molly. “I think this is what’s best for both of them” she said smiling. “We can clearly see how much Harry loves Teddy and I haven’t seen Teddy so calm and happy since I took him into my home. Harry’s of age, so he can definitely choose a life for himself and decide on his own, who’s going to be part of it.”

Even Draco started talking in his favor. “I’ve seen how Teddy’s eyes light up, every time Harry walks into the room. He’s definitely the best choice as a parental figure.”

Harry looked up and smiled at Draco. He would have never thought that the Slytherin would speak up for him, so he could keep his godson. He noticed McGonagall as well as Molly looking between the two of them, so Harry focused back on Teddy, who was now sleeping calmly in his arms.

The headmistress started talking again. “Well in that case, I will send for someone in the Ministry, to give you the adoption papers.” She was quiet for a moment. “So, will you be leaving Hogwarts or would you like to continue your education?”

“I’d rather finish my education, if that works.”

McGonagall nodded. “I will see that there’s an extra room in the boy’s dormitory, so you can stay there with your godson. The only problem would be that I can’t let you stay in there alone. After Christmas, when you move in, tell me who you’d like to stay with.”

Harry smiled and agreed with her. Suddenly, he remembered something else. “Professor McGonagall, what do I say to my father and his friends? It’s Remus’ future son after all… And if I call him Edward or Teddy, that… I have no idea how that would work for them…”

All the occupants in the headmistress’ office were suddenly quiet. No one seemed to understand or know what they should do.

“Well, you can say that Teddy is your godson and that his guardian died. For a parent’s name… I suggest you just use someone’s name and say it’s a friend of yours.” Harry nodded once McGonagall stopped talking.

Molly smiled and hugged him, before she left. “I’ll see you in two days, dear.”

Before they left the room, Draco turned towards the professor. “Professor McGonagall, do you know when the funeral takes place and do you think my mother and I could attend it?”

The headmistress frowned, but smiled at him eventually. “I would suggest, coming to my office, when the Ministry worker brings the papers tomorrow. That way you can ask them if you’re allowed to go to the funeral.”


	55. Maybe another Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry adopts Teddy.

The next morning or rather _later that morning_ , Harry got up, before Teddy could start crying and walked with a sleeping toddler, down to the Great Hall. No one was around and he quickly summoned Kreacher, so he could bring him something for Teddy to eat. Being Kreacher, he didn’t only bring something for Teddy, but also a lot of things for Harry. Too much for only him. Luckily, someone else sat down on the opposite side to him.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Harry asked as he saw Draco with a tired look.

The Slytherin nodded and grabbed some Toast. Teddy suddenly woke up and started crying. Harry had already changed his diaper, so it must be that he was hungry.

“Hey Teds, what do you want?” he showed him the table in front of him and smiled as the eyes of his godson suddenly sparkled. He chewed on his fingers and sort of pointed to the scrambled eggs next to the Slytherin.

“Really?” Harry smiled and gave Teddy a soft kiss on his head. “I would have never imagined, you liked that, Teddy.”

Draco passed the eggs wordlessly and Harry smiled at him, before feeding an obviously hungry toddler.

He felt the other man’s eyes on him, but did not want to look up. Suddenly, an owl flew in and Teddy tried to clap excitedly, though he only managed to slap Harry’s cheek softly. Draco tried to suppress a laugh, but he definitely didn’t manage it long enough. The owl landed next to Harry and he took the parcel smiling.

“I almost forgot about that one!” he said, while the owl flew off again. Teddy stared at the animal, as if he had never seen something like that.

“Hey, Teddy, do you know what that was?” Harry asked softly and Teddy giggled.

“Ba-nana!”

Both grown men laughed loudly and Harry hugged Teddy and gave him another kiss. “No, munchkin. That’s an ‘owl’.” He said the last word slowly, but Teddy looked at him as if he didn’t understand what was going on.

“Ba-nana!” he eventually repeated.

Draco laughed and was covering his mouth, so he wouldn’t spit out whatever he was eating right now and Harry chuckled, which made the toddler jump a little bit on his laps.

“Do you want a banana?”

Harry looked over the table and found what he was looking for. “There you go, bud.” He peeled and cut the banana and gave it to his godson who seemed to be absolutely happy.

“Are you okay, Draco?” he asked, once the other man had calmed down a little and swallowed whatever he had eaten.

The Slytherin grinned and rolled his eyes. “I’m never going to eat anything ever again, when your godson’s around. Why would he say ‘banana’ to an owl!?”

Harry chuckled. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know that banana is an actual word. They’re only supposed to talk or say random words after… I think twelve months or so. And this little angel here’s only nine months old.”

Draco shook his head and slowly bit into his toast, fixating Teddy with a careful look, which the toddler answered with a wide grin. Harry on the other hand started unpacking the box. Once he opened the lid, something golden shone out.

“Holy shit, it’s amazing” he said quietly and took out the golden statue of Neville, slaying Nagini. Draco stopped in the middle of taking another bite and looked at the present Harry had gotten for Neville.

“Hold on, you actually had a statue of that situation made?” he asked a little stunned. “That is freaking awesome!”

Harry grinned and put it back into the box, shrunk it down and hid it inside his pocket. “I still have to write who I am, since there were four people there, when we discussed the golden statue debacle.”

Before Harry could say anything, the first few students walked in and he realized that the tables had been set already. They looked at Harry and Draco and stopped immediately. They had very clearly seen the small man, who was happily munching his banana pieces.

He saw them walking closer and when they stopped right beside him, he threw Draco a slightly annoyed look.

“Oh my god, who is this cute little boy?!” a fourth year Hufflepuff girl said.

Teddy squeaked happily, when they touched his now slightly blue hair and complemented him. Harry felt a little uncomfortable, until Hermione and Ron walked in and chased them away.

Hermione sat down next to Harry and Teddy, while Ron elegantly jumped over the table and settled down beside Malfoy.

“Harry, what happened? Why is Teddy here?” Hermione asked curious.

He helped Teddy with another banana piece and smiled at his best friend. “Well, apparently, Andromeda died and McGonagall asked me if I wanted to adopt Teddy, which I’m going to do today.”

From all the people he knew he would have guessed that Hermione and Ron were the most accepting of his choices. Ron had said nothing, only stared at his plate, while Hermione apparently couldn’t believe what she heard.

“Harry! You can’t adopt a child! You’re still in school, you’re future’s not even remotely planned and you need to… you need to think what’s best for Teddy. I think, growing up in a normal family would really help him, where he…”

“You mean like me, growing up with the Dursleys instead of Sirius? This history repeats itself. Teddy doesn’t have parents and his grandmother just died. I will be there for him and give him everything he needs. Because that’s what Sirius would have done for me. And I know Remus was sure that if anything was to happen to him and his wife that I could take care of his son” Harry said determined.

He got up and grabbed Teddy. He walked up to his room as quickly as possible, not noticing the big black dog in the corner of the Great Hall, put some warm clothes on his little godson and headed to the lake, once he placed the statue on front of Neville’s room with a name tag saying for who it was and that it was from Harry.

By the lake, he saw a familiar blond head of hair. He smiled affectionately and walked around the big tree to greet Draco from the other side.

“How come you’re out here in the snow?” Harry asked and sat Teddy on his lap, once he sat down on the snow repelling blanket Malfoy had placed on the ground.

“I figured you might come out here and I decided you might need someone to help you blow off steam” he explained and looked towards the lake.

Teddy snuggled closer to Harry and giggled happy. Harry stroked his godson’s hair and leaned back at the tree.

“Do you think I’m making a mistake? That I should let go of Teddy and… and give him a happy childhood with some family he doesn’t know?” he asked hesitantly.

The Slytherin looked at him fairly quickly and shook his head. “Anyone who’s seen you with Teddy knows that this is what’s best for him. I don’t think you’re making a mistake. If anything, you’re extremely brave to adopt him, while still in school. You both clearly need each other. I can also see that you’re much more like an adult, around Teddy. It’s like he balances you out.”

Harry smiled at Teddy who was slowly going back to sleep. He cast warming charm over his godson, just to be safe and turned to Draco again.

“But, what if Hermione was right. I mean, I’m not out of school, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do in my future and now I have a child to take care of…” Harry looked down at a sleeping Teddy and he felt tears starting to collect in his eyes. “What if I’m not what he needs _right now_?”

“Harry James Potter, you stop it right now!” Harry looked up a little surprised at Draco who had turned himself to sit so he could look at him straight. “I’m sure a lot of first time adults feel the way you do. But this time, Hermione’s not right. She always sees career and school as the most important things in life. Tell me, who told you, you needed to go back to Hogwarts?”

“Hermione” Harry said quietly, a little intimidated by the way Draco told him to listen up.

“Who would rather spend an evening reading books instead of playing games with friends?”

Harry shook his head. “Well, I also tend to read more books than before and…”

“Potter.”

Draco reverting back to calling him _Potter_ made him sigh. “Hermione would do that.”

The Slytherin nodded. “I know she’s your best friend, but when it comes to children or a career, I see her choosing the latter. You on the other hand” a hand slipped under his chin, tilted his head up and Draco smiled at him. It made him feel all kinds of things, which he couldn’t put his finger on. “You always chose to put people first, which is why you walked into that forest. You would most certainly try and combine studying and only getting O’s with successfully caring for your godson and getting your father and friends home in no time. And I have utter faith in you, that you’d do nothing less than absolutely amazing.”

Harry lowered his head again. There was so much heat in his face, it felt as if it was about to explode. He smiled at the sleeping Teddy and carefully raised his head again. Draco looked at him with the same look he had in his eyes the few last couple of days that Harry still couldn’t quite decode yet.

“You’re much better, than you give yourself credit for, calinours” he smirked, and Harry turned to face the lake, feeling a faint smile on his lips. 

“So, and now, to end my speech” Draco said and winked at him, when he turned to look at the Slytherin, “I will give you another push, which you might not like.”

“As long, as you don’t push me into the lake” Harry joked and couldn’t even hold back a grin, when the blond wizard shot him a death glare.

He cleared his throat and said what he wanted to say to push Harry. “You, _calinours_ , are Harry freaking Potter! You defeated the Dark Lord while studying wizardry with absolute no knowledge whatsoever when you started out. And look where you’re now! You are a highly praised hero, everyone wants to be your friend, people adore you and you still manage to be a humble idiot, down-to-earth kind of guy. Yes, people helped you on the way, but without an amazing leader, they would have never come so far.”

Harry was sure, that Draco enjoyed seeing him flustered, as he had long turned to focus on Teddy and stroked his hair softly. He was smiling at the other man’s words.

They stayed outside, until Kreacher appeared with a crack to get them, since someone from the Ministry had come to deal with the adoption. Once Harry and Draco (as moral support of course) entered McGonagall’s office, they found Kingsley, next to Molly and the headmistress, obviously.

Harry was suddenly really scared. Had they tried to talk Kingsley into not letting him sign the adoption papers? He felt a warm calming hand on his lower back and knew that Draco was going to help him through this.

Before Harry was able to sign anything, Kingsley questioned him on his intentions, his life plan and asked if everyone in the room could give him a memory of him and Teddy together. Luckily, Draco had a lot of them. And Molly showed some of hers as well. The minister seemed to be convinced. Kingsley then made him read the adoption papers very carefully and Draco asked the Minister in the mean time, if he and his mother were allowed to go to the funeral. Harry listened with one ear and was happy to hear that the minister approved it.

Once he had read everything, he signed the papers and Kingsley himself signed as well. And with that, they were a family. Harry couldn’t believe it, he was incredibly happy and when he got up, Teddy giggled at him when he grabbed him and gave him a soft kiss on his head.

He spent his entire day out of school and staying away from people. The rumor that Harry had adopted a child spread like a wildfire. He was eating lunch in the Common Room (Draco went back to the Great Hall to find Dean and Ron for a bet before the big game), when James, Remus and Sirius walked in and found him feeding Teddy.

“Oh, he’s so cute!” James said and almost jumped over the banister to be at the ground faster. Harry looked up and rolled his eyes.

The toddler on the other hand seemed to be extremely excited about some more people and laughed as they came closer. James and Remus kneeled before him and made silly faces that made Teddy giggle and talk to them in his usual nonsensical language.

“Who are the parents?” Sirius asked and walked closer. Harry saw how Remus smiled a little sadly at his own son. Did he know something? Sirius sat on the table behind his best friends.

Harry swallowed and hoped he could deliver this lie as easy as possible. “It’s Thomas Nettle and his wife Jenny. They were two years above me and married rather quickly and also got the boy in April.” _Too much information!_ Harry smiled at Sirius. “And they made me his godfather. Sadly, they died in the war, so I decided to adopt him.”

“He’s cute!” Remus grinned and fed him some applesauce. Harry felt his heart break again and again. How could he do this all over until they were gone?! How could he lie and tell them that everything was okay?

They quickly had to leave, as they informed Harry that the game of Quidditch was about to start. Sirius had looked at him a little suspiciously. Did he somehow know about Remus’ son? He watched them leave, staying behind alone. His hands were trembling, his knees weak and he realised, staring at his godson, that he was at the brink of another breakdown.

“I will not break down in front of you, munchkin” he smiled and wiped a tear away rather quickly. He saw Remus’ eyes, full of awe of this little bud. He didn’t even know this was his baby! Life was so cruel!

Thankfully, Teddy was getting tired and Harry placed him into his bed, put some very strong charms up, that should protect him from anything Zabini might be trying if he saw a baby in Harry’s bed and if he came into the dormitory without any reason. He grabbed the Marauder’s map and checked for the name of Draco Malfoy. Sure enough he was standing in one of the stands on the Quidditch match.

“I’ll be right back, buddy” he whispered and held the map as closely as he could. He had promised Draco, he was going to call him, when he felt as if there was another breakdown coming. And this was definitely something. Not as strong as the one he had after he had revealed his memories, but he wasn’t sure what would happen to this one.

The cheering and echoes made it all the way up to the battle fie… um... _castle_. Harry checked the map again and found Draco in the tower in front of him. He climbed all the stairs in a hasty way, nearly tripping over a step. Once he was all up in the air, he looked around. Of course he was in the middle of the eighth year. He couldn’t just call for Draco to help him.

His face heated, his whole body started trembling a little. He needed help. As soon as possible. Then he saw the blond head of hair he knew so well. He pressed through the crowd, until he was standing right beside the other man, who yelled something motivational, before turning around.

“Hey Harry, ready for some…” he stopped and looked at him a little closely. Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was too much going on. The players on their brooms flying by, the people jeering in the stands. His ears felt as if they were about to explode and he felt as if he couldn’t move anymore. He knew he could only whisper, not talk. His only hope was that it was enough for the Slytherin to react.

“Aide-moi.”


	56. Wrong Place, wrong Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's having a breakdown and a few days later, something happens at the funeral.

Why. Why would this keep happening? Why did he have a breakdown? He was feeling so well as of lately, he felt as if he could finally move on. And now this.

Harry suddenly realized that they were back in their dormitory, he heard some spell being said and was pushed on the Slytherin’s bed, where he sat down. Draco sat down next to him, rubbing his back, probably waiting for him to say something.

He couldn't say or do anything, only stared to the floor. He was overwhelmed. So many things happened. Now, he was the father of Remus’ son, whose father was actually here, just in a younger version. He suddenly doubted everything. Was it the right decision to adopt Teddy? Could he give him everything he needed? Was he enough? He wasn’t even enough for himself. How was he supposed to be enough for a child? For a baby?!

Once again, he felt hot tears streaming down his face, though now, there was someone else here. Draco pulled him into a hug immediately and Harry couldn’t help himself. He cried into the Slytherin’s shoulder. The other man hugged him tight and told him that everything was going to be okay.

He couldn’t really calm down, though. This time it didn’t work. Or… something was missing. He pushed himself away from the Slytherin, but hesitated to let go fully. He wasn’t talking French. Was that the missing thing?! Was he so absorbed into everything Draco had done so far, that he needed him to speak in a foreign language to calm him down?!

“Harry, what’s going on?” Draco asked quietly and when Harry raised his head, he could see a worrying look.

“I…” Harry bit his lower lip and this time, he actually felt his hand moving towards his arm. He didn’t know how to ask. He wanted Draco to talk French with him, but it was a somewhat of a weird request.

The Slytherin stopped his hand by holding it in his own and squeezed it softly. “Tell me. Is there anything, I can do to help you feel better?”

Harry nodded. He felt heat rise into his face and avoided eye contact. “Can you… speak F-French?”

It was quiet for a while and when he raised his head, the Slytherin smiled at him and pulled him into another hug. “Bien sûr que je peux parler français avec toi, mon petit calinours. Tu es une personne si forte. Forte et courageuse et étonnante d'adopter un petit garçon qui a vraiment besoin de toi. Tu seras toujours le sauveur pour tous ceux qui ont besoin de toi, non ? N'oubliez pas que tu as aussi besoin d’être sauvé de temps à autre. Je serai toujours là pour toi, peu importe où tu es et ce qui se passe. Tu dois juste te rappeler que tu peux faire tout ce que tu veux.”

Harry closed his eyes and felt himself relax almost as soon as the first word in French was being said. Draco always had such an effect on him, at least when he was speaking French. After a while, Harry was surprised how fast his apparent breakdown was gone.

“Thank you” he whispered and rubbed his eyes. The Slytherin smiled at him.

Before they could do anything, Teddy stirred and Harry got up to calm him down. Draco turned around, still sitting in his bed and seemed to be watching everything.

“So” he started after a few quiet moments, where Harry rocked Teddy and the toddler started babbling again. “Now that you’ve tried both versions, would you like to try and work through a breakdown alone again next time?”

His voice was soft and Harry rolled his eyes at the comment. He apparently needed some lighter air and Harry had to agree with it. He walked around his bed and hesitated, before sitting back next to the Slytherin.

“Definitely. Because alone worked so much better” he grinned and shoved Draco backwards, which made him fall on his back. Teddy used this to crawl-attack the Slytherin and was soon spread over him. Harry couldn’t help but laugh and hid his face in his hands. He was feeling so much better. Both Draco and Teddy had definitely helped him with it.

Once he looked up, the Slytherin tickled his godson and Teddy giggled, trying to get away from Draco, who kept him right next to himself. He caught the eye of Harry and raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

Harry grinned. “You are actually really good with children. I’d never thought of you that way.”

“Right back at you, Potter” Draco smirked and let Teddy escape, who crawled a few inches and turned around again.

Harry chuckled. “I don’t think you’re getting any peace and quiet.”

Just then, Teddy made a noise and fell against Draco’s legs. The Slytherin laughed and stroked the little man’s back.

“Have you talked to Hermione, yet?” he asked and looked back at Harry.

He shrugged his shoulders. “No. I’m not sure if she’d even want to talk to me.”

Draco nodded lost in though and Harry watched Teddy and Draco play, or rather Draco play with Teddy. It was the most beautiful time Harry had ever had. After a long time, the door opened... or rather shook, as if someone tried to open it and couldn’t.

The Slytherin jumped up and mumbled an incantation. The door opened and Ron walked in, looking around the room, rather wary. He found Harry and Teddy on the Slytherin’s bed and stared at them for a while.

“Hey Ron, what’s going on?”

“Why was the door locked?” Ron asked instead of answering and Harry shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, normally a door is locked, because the people on the inside don’t want people from the outside to walk... _inside_ ” he answered.

Draco smacked a pillow over his head and it threw him right from the bed, as he wasn’t expecting it. Teddy, who had been following all the action, started laughing loudly and if the Slytherin hadn’t caught him, he would have fallen from the bed as well.

Ron just stood there, frowning at the scene in front of him and he definitely did not understand what was going on. On the other hand, you could argue that the two other adults also had no idea what was _really_ going on...

Harry’s best friend just shook his head and walked back out again. Harry stood up and grabbed Teddy, who was still giggling and turned then to his bed, where he found a plush toy. Not just any plush toy, but a teddy bear. It had white furr and a firy red bow tie around its neck. Why was there a teddy... _calinours_.

He looked at it and turned then to the Slytherin who was busy pretending he didn’t do anything. “Draco, you need to clarify something: Is this for Teddy, because his name sounds a little like teddy bear or is it...” he let it hang in the air and looked back at the other man.

“Well, if you want to think of it like that, yes. But it’s actually a present from your Secret Santa.”

Harry looked back at the bed and the teddy bear, not really willing to understand, until it dawned on him. “Wait, you’re my Secret Santa? But you said you...” He suddenly realized that Draco had probably said Megan, because he wouldn’t go around asking her what she’d got. If he’d said Hermione, he probably would have asked all the time.

Draco grinned at him. Harry rolled his eyes and started walking towards the door.

“Hey, Chosen Idiot, where are you going?” the Slytherin called after him.

Harry turned around at the door. “Getting something to eat from the kitchen. Would you like to come with me?” Without saying anything, Draco stood up and followed him down to the kitchen.

*

Andromeda’s funeral on Tuesday the next week was small and next to Narcissa and Draco, only a hand full of other people attended it. There were almost as many attendees as there were Aurors. Harry thought it was a little funny, but decided not to comment on it. He had a suspicion that no one would appreciate his humor right now.

The Christmas break had started right after the Quidditch game, which Slytherin won. On their way to London, Draco had chosen to sit in the compartment with Harry, Neville, Ginny and Luna. Hermione was still not happy with his decision of adopting Teddy and had dragged Ron off to sit somewhere else. Probably with the marauders. They had talked about all sorts of things, but most of the time, they had played with Teddy, while he was awake anyway. Harry was then welcomed by the Weasley’s and was happy to see that Vernon was nowhere to be seen. Well, he never was there to get him for Christmas, so it wasn’t that surprising.

The thing that surprised him was that earlier on Tuesday morning he had gotten a visit from Kingsley, looking rather down, who had told him that the Time Turner hadn’t worked and they had to look for some new information. Harry had wanted to jump into another book about Time Turners right away, but George and Ginny had dragged him out of the house and persuaded him to build a snowmen army which they had let fight each other in an unbelievable white mess. It had taken Harry’s mind of things and Teddy had loved to watch the charmed snow army rolling around in the snow. Interestingly enough, though Harry was a little afraid the a battle would bring him back to _the_ battle, nothing happened and he actually had an amazing time.

After the funeral, there was a small get together in a little cottage near the cemetery. Normally, these feasts were held in the homes of the mourning families; however, Harry was sure that Narcissa didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable having to dine in a house where Voldemort lived (and where Hermione was being tortured). So they were meeting in a small cottage.

Teddy basically devoured all the bananas. Narcissa was in love with the small man and Harry even let him with her, as he seemed to be cheering her up. He was looking for Draco, who looked especially handsome in his black suit. Harry knew it was not really well mannered to check someone out during a funeral, but he couldn’t resist. He also couldn’t resist what he was going to do right now: He had waited for so long to tell him how he felt. There wasn’t another second he could wait for.

He found Draco sitting in a corner, staring into space. He was leaning forward on his elbows, which he had place on his knees. There was a glass of red wine in his hands, which he had probably forgotten about. His hair was half wild and half tamed, it made him look only more handsome. There was also a thoughtful crease on his forehead.

Harry sat on an abandoned chair next to him. “Hey, how are you doing?”

Draco raised his head and smiled a little bit sad. He looked over to his mother, who was playing with Teddy. “She looks happy right now.”

“Yeah, Teddy can do that.” Harry grinned and leaned back. “But, how are _you_ doing?” He sounded just like Angelica, when she hadn’t received the answer she had wanted to hear.

The Slytherin smiled at him and sat up properly. “I guess, I’m okay. I didn’t know her all that well. I’m just sad that my mother lost someone she probably cared about a lot. I mean, when was the last time she talked to her sister?”

Harry nodded and looked to the ground. This was the moment. He needed to say it. Right now. He had to do it. However, Draco came first and asked him something else.

“You don’t look so well, yourself. How is it going with Teddy? Are you okay with Andromeda’s death?”

“How can you ever be okay with someone dying?” Harry sighed. He looked over to Narcissa and Teddy, who were having an interesting nonsensical discussion about anything. “Teddy’s the sweetest. But we both already knew that.”

Draco chuckled quietly. When Harry looked at him, frowning slightly, he grinned. “But, how are _you_ doing?”

Grinning, Harry shook his head. “I’m doing fine. Thank you for asking.”

They sat there for quite some time. Harry saw how Hermione and Ron were leaving. He was almost the last guest to stay here.

„Actually, I need to tell you something.“ Harry was feeling particularly brave right now. He had no idea why, but he was going to use this sudden strength. Actually, it might be the adrenalin rushing through his body, because he suddenly realized that he wasn’t feeling brave at all, but rather extremely terrified. He had to say it now, while the adrenalin was still working. “I… I need you to know, that I… I have… feelings for you.”

Draco sat on his chair as if he was frozen in time. Harry wasn’t sure what happened. He had always imagined the Slytherin smiling at him and saying that he had the same feelings and that there would be a happy ending. That didn’t work with how the situation was being played out right now.

The Slytherin looked up and smiled sadly. “Harry, I’m supposed to marry Astoria.”

“But you’re gay…” Harry was confused. Draco shrugged his shoulders.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not allowed to have any other relationship. Either Astoria’s family tells me they don’t want anything to do with me, which means I can start looking around, or I’ll marry her and that’ll be the end of it.”

Harry sat there, really dumbfounded. He wanted to say something. Just something. There was nothing coming out of his mouth. Draco tried to catch his eyes, but Harry couldn’t deal with this right now. He averted his gaze and stared towards Teddy, who squeaked happily.

Then, the Slytherin apparently decided to say something. “It’s not that I don’t have feelings for you, Harry. I just can’t break the…”

“No, it’s fine, Draco. I understand. Sorry I made things awkward.” With that Harry got up and walked over to Narcissa, he ignored Draco calling after him, said goodbye and when she handed over Teddy, Harry told his godson to say goodbye. Of course, he said something that sounded like banana and Narcissa thanked him for being here. Harry had not enough strength left inside of him, so he only smiled at her and walked out.

He walked out of the fireplace in the Weasley’s house and gave Teddy a small kiss on the cheek. At least his godson was there for him – even though he didn’t understand what was going on. Maybe Hermione or Ron would have been there for him as well, but they were somewhere, doing something, he probably didn’t want to know.

So, he sat down in the living room and let Teddy roam free. He should have known. He should have never tried to tell him how he felt. It was so much better, when they both were just pretending to be flirting with each other. He didn’t only have feelings for the other man. He loved him.

And now, all hope was gone. He felt himself tearing up and bit his lower lip. He should have never done that. He groaned and placed his head in his hands. He felt tears streaming down his face, getting caught between his fingers, streaming over them as well.

“Harry?” a female voice called. He immediately wiped his hands over his face – not that that made any difference. He didn’t have to look up to know who was talking to him and standing at the doorframe.

Ginny walked into the room and sat down next to him. She looked at him worriedly and Harry knew what she wanted to know, she didn’t even have to ask. She handed him a tissue which he accepted and cleaned his face.

“I told him, Ginny” he croaked. It took everything he had, not to start sobbing.

The redhead placed her hand on his arm and squeezed lightly. “From the looks of it, it didn’t go that well.”

Harry shook his head. He took a deep breath and tried to stabilize his voice. “He said he had to marry Astoria Greengrass.” He held his breath for a second, trying to control his breathing by not breathing, which was the weirdest idea he ever had. Well, not really, but still.

Ginny put an arm around his neck and pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay, Harry. If I’ve learnt anything from my relationship with Luna, it’s that you have to believe that things turn out exactly as they’re supposed to be.”

He pushed himself away and shook his head. “So, he’s supposed to marry Astoria? And I’m supposed to… what?” he looked around the room and saw Teddy playing with the plush Snitch.

“That’s not what I’m saying, dear.” She sounded exactly like Molly and Harry had to smile a little bit. He wiped a few more tears from his face and looked back at her. “Just believe that there’s a happy end for everyone. Maybe then you’ll get yours.”

When she stood up to go looking for Luna, he sighed. He had found his happy ending. Only now it was destroyed. Ginny was long gone, when he suddenly noticed three boys standing in the corner. They looked a little surprised, but smiled at him.

“So, how long did you stand there?”

James came out of the shadows and stepped over some toys on the floor. “Well, let’s just say that we were here before you were.”

Harry nodded. Of course they were.

“You told that Malfoy bloke that you like him, didn’t you?” Sirius asked and almost jumped into the air. Harry sighed.

“Yes, I did and please stop talking about it” he conceded.

He watched as Remus sat down on the floor to play with his son. He bit his lower lip again and was suddenly aware of the pain on his arm. He hadn’t dug his nails in it for quite some time. There had always been a certain blond wizard to keep him away from hurting himself. He sighed and fell back into the sofa.

“At least, I’m now on my lowest. It can only go up from here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French guide:
> 
> Bien sûr que je peux parler français avec toi, mon petit calinours. = Of course I can speak French with you, my little teddy bear.
> 
> Tu es une personne si forte. = You are such a strong person. 
> 
> Forte et courageuse et étonnante d'adopter un petit garçon qui a vraiment besoin de toi. = Strong and brave and amazing for adopting a baby boy who really needs you.
> 
> Tu seras toujours le sauveur pour tous ceux qui ont besoin de toi, non ? = You will always be the savior for everyone who needs you, right?
> 
> N'oubliez pas que tu as aussi besoin d’être sauvé de temps à autre. = Don't forget that you also need saving from time to time. 
> 
> Je serai toujours là pour toi, peu importe où tu es et ce qui se passe. = I will always be there for you, no matter where you are and what's going on.
> 
> Tu dois juste te rappeler que tu peux faire tout ce que tu veux. = You just have to remember that you can do anything you put your mind to.


	57. It's high Time for some Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco has been behaving differently. Narcissa's not going to back down, until she finds out what's going on with her son.

Narcissa knew that her son was keeping a secret. He behaved not like himself; ever since the funeral he was behaving weirdly. She had noticed that Harry Potter had been talking to him and it didn’t seem as if they were enemies. On Christmas day morning, she had caught him sending an owl. He had looked as if he hadn’t slept, but with their new and old houseguest, she wasn’t surprised.

Of course, he could have just been writing Pansy, however, he would have asked her if she wanted to send a greeting or invite her for some tea. She had always sent some nice words of encouragement.

And now, after the presents under the tree had been opened, he had gone back into his room and it looked as if he wasn’t quite himself.

Her interest peaked, however, when he had announced he needed some fresh air and went outside. Yes, that boy liked it outside, but he had always complained that winter was too cold to do anything. Now, he was going out and it had been _his_ idea?

She decided to follow him. Yes, that was definitely not what any mother was supposed to do, but she couldn’t just watch how different her boy was and do nothing about it. The important thing was to at least know if it was a good change or not.

Draco stood on the edge of the ward, looking towards a hill. Suddenly, another figure appeared right in front of him. Narcissa wasn’t the only one who jumped a little.

“Oi! Why do you need to scare me every single time?!” Draco asked. He was definitely amused and annoyed at the same time. It wasn’t something she had seen him be.

“Well, if I have to be here on Christmas, I should at least have a little fun. Like scaring you.”

Narcissa couldn’t really match the voice to a name. She also couldn’t truly see the person Draco was talking to, since she didn’t want to be seen hiding behind their gate. So she decided to listen some more and maybe they’d say something that would give her a hint.

“I didn’t think you’d actually show up.” Narcissa frowned again. There was so much hurt in her son’s voice and she couldn’t figure out why. Yes, Lucius being here over the holiday wasn’t helping him much to move on, but she knew her son. Something else was going on.

Before she could think of any conclusions, the guest started talking. “Well, neither did I” he sighed. “But what can I say… I have a thing for being there for people in need. No matter what situation they’re in.”

It was quiet for a minute and Narcissa leaned to her right, so check around the edge of the gate, but couldn’t see much as her son was blocking her view of the secret visitor.

“Oh man, I hate this place” she heard the other man say, which made her frown. She hid her head back behind the gate again. Why would the visitor come here, if he didn’t like it here? And why did Draco invite him?

“Sorry about that. Thank you for still coming, though. You don’t need to come inside the manor; we can just walk around out here.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Malfoy. Just give me a minute or two so that I can convince my brain that Voldemort isn’t inside the manor and that you’re not going to imprison me inside your basement. That place still haunts my nightmares.”

Narcissa shook her head. _Malfoy_? It couldn’t be a close friend, since they all called him Draco. Why would someone, who wasn’t a close friend, come by, at Christmas no less, and talk to him like a normal human being would? The man (at least she had figured that out) sounded a little broken, when he used Draco’s last name. What was that all about? She didn’t have time to think about it more, as Draco shook his head and answered.

“Why is our basement haunting you? Nothing bad happened down there… Or did it?”

“Well, we could hear Bellatrix torturing Hermione” the visitor answered quietly. Narcissa could see it in her head, how her son just turned towards the mansion – also, the sound of someone walking in the snow gave him away.

“I guess that’s why you’re alone and your friends let you come here without any backup?”

“Well, they might not know I’m here. I said I was going to Godric’s Hollow, visiting my parent’s grave. Christmas is about family, after all.”

Narcissa was incredibly surprised. Godric’s Hollow? Harry Potter’s parents had lived there. What was he doing here? And why did he lie about where he was to his friends?

“I’m sorry about that” her son said with clear remorse in his voice. She was surprised to hear how honest he was.

“Don’t be. You didn’t do anything.”

Draco sighed and Narcissa was sure, he was rolling his eyes. “Well, I can still feel sorry about something I didn’t do. And by the way, I am also truly sorry for what happened at the funeral.”

Narcissa frowned. What happened at the funeral? Why were they here, talking to each other as if they’d been friends for years? There were so many questions she couldn’t get any answers, since she wanted to stay hidden. Maybe she would destroy their friendly discussion, if she’d shown her face. So, for now, she needed to stay quiet and observe.

“Well, at least we were honest with each other, right?” Harry Potter asked.

“Right.”

“Frankly, I’m actually surprised you’re still feeling _something_ ” Harry Potter said and Narcissa could hear him joking loud and clear.

Her son snorted. “I take that as a complement.”

“You really shouldn’t” Harry teased lightly. Narcissa could see him grinning, when she looked right through the shrubs. He looked towards the mansion and nodded then. “Let’s go inside. However, maybe not inside the house…”

“No problem” Draco said. He turned around and she could see him smiling softly, but a little sadly as well. He led them through the gateway and then sharp right, through a small, but high second gate, where she knew he had a small garden for himself. Luckily, Harry hadn’t seen her and her son was somewhere else with his thoughts, she could see.

They walked through the white garden and ended up at the very end in Draco’s corner. Not even Pansy was allowed here… And now he had led Harry Potter towards his little place in heaven, just like that? Narcissa hid behind a bush, where she had a perfect view of the two men sitting on a bench right under the big tree.

They were quiet, Harry looking around interested. The snow made it a little hard to see the actual flowers and herbs, Draco had been planting in this place. Draco crossed his legs and places his hands in his lap, just as he was always supposed to. Harry in the other hand sat on the bench Indian style. He didn’t seem to care a lot for manners, which Narcissa found interesting, especially because Draco had always argued that he didn’t want to be around people without proper manners and now he was spending time with someone like that. In his younger years that was. If she was honest, he hadn’t said something like that since he came back after forth year. Then again, there were other things happening around that time.

“So, why did you bring me here?” Harry asked and smiled slightly.

Draco sighed. “I need someone who can keep me sane. I figured you’re the only one who could really keep me normal.”

Harry laughed a little and shook his head. “Thank you, I guess?” he looked at Draco carefully. “What’s going on?”

Her son rolled his eyes and looked into the corner of the garden. “My father’s prison sentence has been reduced. He’s coming home in eighteen months. He had some names of high-ranking officials that had been Death Eaters.”

“That’s great!” Harry said and gave Draco a warm smile. Narcissa knew that he probably didn’t feel that way. Seeing, how happy he was for Draco made it absolutely worth spying on them.

Draco shook his head. “I… I don’t know if I want him around here again. He’s been here for two days over Christmas, but we’re all just so…” he had problems finding the right words.

“Haunted by the past?” Harry suggested and Draco nodded vehemently.

The young man sighed. “I hate to break it to you, Draco; we’re all haunted by the past! You have to find a way to… to somehow…” now, it seemed as if Harry had problems finding the right words. He frowned and stared into the ground. “You have to get a new rhythm and feeling for other people.”

Draco raised his eyebrows. Narcissa also didn’t really understand what he meant. What she found interesting on the other hand, was that he suddenly changed to call him by his first name.

Luckily, Harry explained it a little more. “For example, Hermione, Ron and I had gotten into a rhythm while we were on the run; we got up, read up on some news, found the next place to stay, built our tent and secured the place with all kinds of powerful magic. We tried to…” he hesitated, but clearly decided to talk either way. “We tried to destroy one Horcrux after the other and then find a place where the new one could be. It was all a ‘one problem after the other’-way of thinking. This doesn’t really work when you’re at Hogwarts and the war’s over” he smiled weakly.

“You… you destroyed a Horcrux?” Draco whispered. If it wasn’t so quiet, Narcissa never would have heard him. 

“More than one, but yes” Harry nodded, still with a weak smile.

“How… how did you…” Draco either didn’t know what he wanted to say or it was something he didn’t want to know, so he stopped the question.

Harry grabbed a fistful of snow and pressed it to a small ball. “If you’re interested in how I destroyed them; it was the Sword of Gryffindor” he said, focusing on his snow ball. “If you want to know, how I knew about his Horcruxes; Dumbledore told me about them. And in the end…”

Once again, Harry stopped talking. Draco looked at him encouraging.

Harry sighed. “You really want to hear?”

Draco nodded.

Harry pressed a thumb inside the little snow ball and broke it into pieces. “Okay; in the end, Dumbledore just told me about them, so I could finish his job and… and get myself killed.”

“What do you mean? It was Dumbledore’s plan to get you killed?”

“That is exactly what I’m saying.”

Draco stared at Harry with big eyes. Even Narcissa couldn’t believe what she just heard. That poor boy! His nonchalant tone made it even worse. It was as if he was in peace with the old man’s decision.

“How so?”

Harry’s smile was weak and sad. “Because ultimately, I was a Horcrux as well.”

Narcissa had serious trouble staying quiet. It was even worse than she had thought. Harry Potter had been a Horcrux for the Dark Lord? How could he ever live with that realization?!

“How… Since when did he know?” Draco asked confused.

“Probably ever since I survived Voldemort’s attack. He definitely knew that I was a Horcrux when I presented him Tom Riddle’s diary – the very first Horcrux.”

Both men were quiet again. Narcissa was very happy about that. There was so much information about Harry Potter she hadn’t known. She felt a little sad for judging him, before she knew the whole story.

“So, let’s move on to lighter topics, shall we?” Harry offered and smiled a little.

Draco nodded. “How’s Teddy? Did you manage to talk to Hermione yet?”

Harry sighed. “Teddy’s amazing. He can already twist the entire Weasley family around his finger. Which didn’t take long, to be honest. And no, I haven’t talked to Hermione yet. She’s coming over for New Year, I think. I guess we’re talking then.”

Suddenly, there was a loud _wush_ and a batch of snow fell from the tree on top of the guest. He jumped up with a surprised shout. Draco started laughing very loud and amused, as Harry tried to get the snow away from his hair, cloths and everywhere else it had gone. Narcissa hadn't heard her son laugh like that for a long time. Apparently, it wasn’t news to Harry, as he just glared at him.

“You think that’s funny, Draco?” he asked, grabbed some snow and pressed it down into Draco’s collar.

Her son leaped up and tried to get the snow to melt. “You just made a huge mistake, Potter! Never challenge a Malfoy. We win every time!”

Harry laughed and wiped some snow from his shoulders. “That’s a snowball fight, Malfoy!” he said, grabbed some snow and threw it at Draco. He hit him right in his chest. Draco threw a neatly pressed ball back and hit Harry at his shoulder. 

Narcissa was more than a little surprised. Ever since she could remember he had hated those games in the snow. Now, apparently, he was fine with being hit by a snow ball? She watched as Harry threw some more and always hit Draco somewhere he didn’t expect it. Draco had more difficulty, as Harry dodged a lot of the snow.

It was interesting to see how Harry made more snowballs, than he threw. Most of them, he tossed towards her son, which he used to shoot back at Harry. It was more playful than serious. Narcissa had never seen anything like that, if her son had been involved. She had also never seen her son with so much joy and as happy as he was right now. He was cheering when he hit his opponent, laughing when Harry dodged another ball and giggling when he got hit himself. Harry was also laughing more than not.

After some time, the visitor gave up and held up his hands in defeat, still smiling broadly. “You win, Malfoy. I can’t fight anymore.”

“Why, thank you. At least, I win in a snowball fight. I should tell my father” Draco grinned.

“Would he be proud of you?”

Draco laughed. It wasn’t bitter like he used to, when talking about his father. “For winning in a snowball fight? I don’t think so.”

“Well, then don’t tell him. Keep it a secret, will you?”

“Why?”

“Because, if the Prophet finds out I’ve lost a snowball fight, they will declare me their Chosen Idiot.”

Draco started laughing so hard he fell into the snow. It didn’t seem to bother him though. Narcissa was fascinated what effect Harry had on her son. He seemed to be human and not just unfeeling machinery, which she was sure they had trained him into being. 

Harry chuckled and walked over to where Draco was now sitting in the snow. “You are funny, Potter” her son said grinning.

“A compliment from Draco Malfoy! Where are those reporters, when you need them?!” Harry said jokingly, which made Draco roll his eyes.

“Just so you know; I’m the only one who’s allowed to call you _The Chosen Idiot_. If I see that name somewhere else, I’ll kill whoever said that” Draco remarked.

Narcissa was surprised to say the least. They had apparently a very deep friendship. She was astonished that Draco had never mentioned it to her. When she saw, however, the little sad smile on Harry’s face, she frowned. It was as if they both had been in a fantasy land and now they were back in reality.

“Don’t say something like that, Draco. I don’t even know why I’m really here. I guess I still care too much about you. But don’t say things like that and don’t mean it.”

Draco stood up and shook the snow from his clothes. Narcissa had a little bit of trouble understanding what was going on. But then, she saw her son’s look. It was suddenly as clear as day.

“I mean it, Harry. Those are _my_ nicknames for you; I will not let anybody else say them.”

Harry nodded, his happy smile and expressions were gone. “I think you lost the right to that when you told me you couldn’t be in a relationship with me.”

Narcissa gasped. So her observations were correct. She could see how much Draco cared for Harry and obviously the other man cared for him as well, he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t.

“Well, I still said I had feelings for you.”

Draco looked as broken as Harry did. Narcissa frowned. They both had feelings for each other? Yet, they couldn’t be together? Something must be wrong. Then she remembered. Lucius had made a contract with the Greengrass’ that her daughter would marry Draco. Even though Narcissa had been against it. They had married because of love, not because of a contract. But Lucius didn’t want to hear any of that.

When she focused on the two young men in front of her again, Harry smiled weakly. “That doesn’t make things better, Draco. You’re going to marry someone else…”

“For whom I have absolutely no feelings for, whatsoever” Draco interrupted the other man and sighed. He turned around to the bench and sat down again. This time, he was sitting in the snow. Narcissa shook her head. He didn’t even seem to care.

Harry seemed to be at crossroads. “Listen, Draco. I don’t think we should… I don’t think we should continue this friendship. It’s just getting awkward and if we both have to move on, it would be best to just… I don’t know. Not see each other, I guess.”

“Please don’t do that, Harry.”

Narcissa felt as if someone ripped her heart out and from the looks of it, Harry did so as well. He took a small present out of his jacket, enlarged it and placed it next to her son.

“We both know that this isn’t going to work as a simple friendship. I thought it did, but not now, that we both confessed our feelings. So, here’s a Christmas present I bought for you a while ago. I hope you’ll like it.” He stood up and walked to the path, where Narcissa was hiding. Before he went away, he turned around to look at her son. “See you around Hogwarts, Draco.”

And with that, he was gone.


	58. Time’s a-wastin’

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's at the burrow, when a surprise visitor arrives, which promptes more surprise visitors, none of which are happy to be there.

“How are you doing?”

It was Boxing Day and Harry had been sitting outside, looking at the snowflakes falling softly from the grey sky. Everything was quiet and peaceful – but his mind was still racing. It had only been four days since he had finally confessed his feelings and he couldn’t quite get over it. On Christmas Day, when he had received Draco’s owl, he had left everything and went to see him almost immediately. Even though he had told him, that he didn’t know why he was there, he knew it. He was going to try and convince him that they could be together. Somehow.

Now, he was suddenly not alone anymore. Ginny sat down on the bench beside him, looking at the snow. He smiled at her and sat up straight, before he shrugged his shoulders.

“I honestly don’t know anymore. I wish there was a way to undo what I said. To go back to… whatever we had then.”

Ginny smiled at him. “You never had anything else but attraction for each other, Harry. The way you talked and behaved towards each other is the way Luna and I talked to each other, before we became girlfriends.”

He decided not to look at her, but followed a snowflake from the top of his view to the ground. It landed on a huge pile of snow that had once been a snowmen army fighting each other. He smiled a little.

“Harry, you can’t ignore what happened and go back to the way it was before.” Ginny didn’t seem to give up.

Rubbing his forehead, which had become a little cold, Harry leaned back on the bench and crossed his arms. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right, Gin. But I just… I can’t stop thinking about him.”

Ginny smiled weakly and put an arm around his shoulders. “That would probably be, because you are hopelessly in love with him. I’m actually surprised that no one else has realized that by now!”

“Hermione did, I’m pretty sure.”

“Well, don’t worry about her. She’ll come around, with you adopting Teddy, I mean.”

Harry chuckled and rolled his eyes. “You are pretty amazing, did anyone ever tell you that?”

“Luna does, almost every day” Ginny grinned.

“Of course she does.”

They sat there for a few minutes, before Ginny got up and pulled Harry with her. He followed her and they walked into the house, where Molly hurried around rather frantically. Harry grinned at Ginny, who snuck back up the stairs. It looked like Charlie wasn’t coming home today. She had been angrily calling over the floo for the last two days, trying to get him to come home.

He decided to talk to her, maybe there was news about when he would come home. She had effectively decided to ignore Christmas and presents until he was home and they could celebrate as a family. No one was happier than George that he could stay hidden in his room almost all of Christmas day. Harry had spent a few hours with him, but other than him, he had only allowed Ginny and Luna in his room. And of course Teddy. The small boy was a soft spot for George and he had played with him for the longest time. Harry had even seen a soft smile once or twice.

“Hi Molly, when’s Charlie going to be here, do you know?”

Molly turned around and sighed. “He’ll be here in two days. So that’s when we’re doing Christmas. I can’t believe he had to stay away for so long.” She looked at him closely. Harry was sure she could see that he’d been crying quietly the last two nights alone in his room. “And how are you, dear?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m good” he lied. “I’m really happy that Teddy’s not traumatized from his grandmother dying and actually enjoying his time here.”

“Ah, yes” Molly smiled knowingly. “Parents are happy, when their children are happy.”

Harry chuckled. He was just about to say something, when a loud noise outside the house interrupted their discussion. It sounded as if someone had fallen against a pile of wood. Harry walked to the door and Molly had cautiously drawn her wand already.

When Harry opened the door, he was more than a little surprised: Draco was leaning against the wall, looking chilled to the bones, as he wasn’t wearing anything thick and he was shivering extremely. The only thing he was currently wearing were almost black jeans, thin brown shoes and a light, grey sweater. Harry helped him up and brought him inside, where Molly immediately conjured a few thick blankets, hot tea and a warm soup. His fingers were ice cold from only just touching Draco. Harry put a warming charm around the Slytherin and rubbed his arms under the blanket, so he would get towards a normal body temperature again.

After a while, where Draco had started to shiver uncontrollably and quickly stopped again, as the warming charms and the general warmth of the house had started to make him look like a normal human being again, the Slytherin started to look around.

“I’m s-so sorry” he said, still shivering slightly. “I didn’t know w-where else to go…”

Harry pushed the tea closer and sat down next to him. “What are you talking about, Draco? What happened?”

He snuggled more into the blanket and hid his face. Molly, who had been baking more cookies, placed some in front of him and the Slytherin raised his head again and carefully grabbed one. He ate it slowly, but the sugar seemed to help him with everything.

“My mother, she… she saw us together and she… she made me tell my father that I… that I was g-gay” he trembled and Harry couldn’t resist, but placed his hand on the other man’s arm, squeezing slightly. Draco looked at him, desperately trying to hide the fact that he was about to start crying.

He closed his eyes and Harry decided not to take away his hand from his arm. It looked like needed all the strength he could get.

“Father was furious. He said I… He said I was a dis-disgrace for the family and that I… that he wanted nothing to do with me until I was m-married. He chased me out of the house and refused to let me back inside to grab something warm. He wouldn’t let mother out of the house as well. I… The only place I could think of going, was here.” He lowered his gaze and stared at the soup in front of him. Slowly, he started eating it.

Harry could see that Molly was happy he was eating something. It surprised him how she was willing to let someone like Draco into her house. Though, he had told her how much he had changed, so maybe that was the reason. On the other hand, Molly had welcomed Harry into her home, it really shouldn’t surprise him that she’d accept people looking for a place to sleep.

“When did he throw you out, Draco?” Harry asked carefully. He couldn’t have been so cold if it was just this morning.

“It… Yesterday shortly before lunch…” he whispered and ate more of the soup.

“Poor boy!” Molly shouted and grabbed more things to eat. Harry grinned when he saw how she placed a little more on the table. He could feel Draco’s gaze on him and turned to see his surprised look.

After a few minutes, the soup was gone, though Draco looked worse than before. Harry had a feeling there was another problem he didn’t want to talk about.

Just then, Ginny stormed into the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks right at the door frame, when she saw Draco.

“Okay, that explains things” she said under her breath, before she turned to her mother. “Mum, there are three Aurors in our living room and Kingsley just arrived.”

Molly frowned and Harry could feel Draco tensing up. He turned to the Slytherin, when it dawned on him. “You’re not allowed to apparate…”

Draco nodded, panic in his eyes. Molly shook her head. “What are they going to do now? They can’t send you to Azkaban over this, right?”

“They can” he whispered. Harry shook his head. He was not going to let this happen.

At that moment, Kingsley walked into the kitchen and the Aurors followed him. He pointed to Draco and turned to his followers. “See, nothing bad happened.” When he faced Draco again, he had a rather stern look on his face. “Mr. Malfoy. You are aware that breaking any of your probation rules will result in you staying in Azkaban, aren’t you?”

Before either Draco could respond or Molly could argue something, Harry decided to speak up for the Slytherin.

“Kingsley, I really am sorry about this; I forgot he wasn’t allowed to apparate.”

He successfully gained all the attention from the Aurors as well as the Minister himself. So they didn’t see the confused looks on Molly and Draco. “What are you talking about, Harry?” Kingsley asked frowning.

Thinking quickly, Harry had his half-lie laid out in front of him. “Well, you see. Draco sent me a message that said that his father had kicked him out of the house and he needed some help. So, I decided to come by and get him to someplace warm – here. When I arrived, I asked if he wanted to apparate, since he hadn’t done it in a while and we both must have forgotten that the Aurors track all of his moves. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Narcissa Malfoy, she has seen me on their property.” Just not today…

The Aurors shook their heads, though Kingsley looked at him as if he knew he was lying all along. And he probably did.

“How can you receive a message from Mr. Malfoy? We control all his owl post.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders to gain a second of thinking time. “Patronusses can send messages as well, as I’m sure you remember, Minister.”

Kingsley nodded, obviously thinking hard. “In that case, Mr. Malfoy could you please show us your Patronus outside?”

Draco nodded silently and got up. Harry grabbed a winter jacket and put it over the Slytherin’s shoulders, while refreshing his warming charm. They all walked outside. By now, most of the Weasley family was around too and watching what happened. Harry caught a glimpse of the marauders as well.

Once outside, Draco focused and took a little time to undoubtedly get a happy memory. When he opened his eyes again, Harry could see the determined look, he got to know so well, when Draco was about to produce a corporal Patronus.

“Expecto Patronus!” he yelled and a huge animal appeared. It wasn’t the three dragonflies and also none of the normal Patronusses. No, his Patronus had changed into a huge, blue-shining dragon. His wings as large as a small car, the claws ready to attack any Dementor and his eyes were silvery-green. Harry stared at it for a few seconds, before turning to the Minister.

Masking his surprise and confusion, he smiled at him. “Are we okay now? Don’t take him to Azkaban because of something I did.”

Kingsley nodded. “In the future, please avoid apparating without notifying the Aurors first.”

Draco nodded silently and all the Aurors were gone immediately. Before the Minister could go, however, Harry stopped him. “Could you maybe ask Narcissa to pack everything that he had left there, before his father kicked him out? She only saw me, we had no time to talk.”

“Of course, Harry” Kingsley nodded at all of them, before apparating himself.

They led Draco back inside, where Molly quickly made breakfast for everyone. Percy asked why Draco was there, but neither Molly nor Harry would answer that. And Draco seemed a little bit too tired to answer himself.

When he had eaten, Harry led him to his bedroom – or rather the guest room – where Draco fell into the warm bed, which Harry had charmed only for the Slytherin. He tucked him in carefully and smiled when Draco unconsciously sighed happily.

“Sleep tight, Draco” he whispered, closed the blinds and grabbed an almost asleep Teddy, so that the other man could sleep without being disturbed.

*

The Minister showed up later that day again, though this time accompanied by Narcissa. Harry was a little scared that she might have told him the truth and that Draco was going to Azkaban right now.

“Harry” Kingsley greeted him. He placed a shrunken trunk in his hands. “That is what Mrs. Malfoy had packed for her son. She would like to talk to you in private and see her son as well, if possible.”

There was no real privacy in the whole house, so Harry decided to make her see Draco right now. Kingsley was invited for some Christmas cookies by Molly in the kitchen. Once Harry and Narcissa had climbed the stairs and stood in front of the guest room, Harry knocked twice and entered.

Draco was still lying in the bed, half asleep. When he saw Harry enter and more effectively, his mother, he sat up quickly. It appeared as if he had thought all of what had happened this morning was a dream, as he suddenly looked around. Harry opened the blinds for some light and Narcissa sat down next to her son.

“I am so sorry, dragon. I hope you realize that I never wanted you to leave! I have nothing against your sexuality and I was never standing behind the marriage contract.” Draco nodded and looked at the ground.

Harry saw the tip of an expendable ear and cast a few different silencing charms around the room. Hopefully that would do the trick. At least one of the spells he’d used.

Narcissa stood up and walked over to Harry who was suddenly frozen where he was standing. She had a big smile and once she arrived in front of him, she hugged him.

“Thank you so much! The Minister told me that you were protecting my Draco from going to Azkaban, when he tried to find a safe place. He would have probably died out there!”

Harry looked over to Draco who was a little embarrassed, staring at and playing with the blanked. Smiling, he nodded at her.

“Of course. I think Azkaban is a bit too harsh just for apparating to another place.”

Their discussion wasn’t that long afterwards. Draco’s mother probably just wanted to make sure that her son was okay. When Narcissa left, she said she’d find her way to the kitchen on her own and left the two men in a room. Harry placed the shrunken trunk on Draco’s bed.

“Your mother packed everything for you.”

Draco nodded and bit his lower lip, before looking at him. “I’m really sorry for making you go through all this trouble.”

Harry smiled. “Stop being sorry, Draco. If I didn’t want to go through all this trouble, I wouldn’t have lied to the Minister and the Aurors.” He was quiet for a while, only looking at Draco. He caught himself quickly again and pointed to the door on the opposite side of the staircase. “There’s the bathroom. Maybe you should get a bath to warm up.”

“I’m already warm, Harry” Draco grinned slightly.

It made Harry feel all sorts of things, but he only rolled his eyes. “Warm _er_ , then. We’re downstairs in the kitchen or the living room. Just follow the noise. Take as much time as you need.”

He turned around, but before he could leave the room, he heard Draco call something after him.

“Thank you, Harry.”

He hesitated. The words formed themselves and the urge to say them was bigger than anything. The meaning of those words were heavy and full of love. Weird love, but still... love. He had to say them and in the end, he gave in. “Always, Draco. Always.”


	59. (No) Time for Fun Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry notices that Draco starts to relax a bit. And some people might suspect something is going on between Draco and Harry.

Teddy was playing with George, Ginny and even Percy had joined them. Arthur was teaching the marauders everything he knew about Muggles, which Harry though was a little hilarious. Ron was visiting Bill and Fleur, obviously trying to avoid Harry as much as possible to not upset Hermione. Harry knew that they would be here in two days, so he had to talk to her some day. Molly was in the kitchen, working away with dinner, which was soon. After having spent some time watching his godson play, Harry was just about to walk over to kitchen, when he walked into Draco, who had turned the corner.

“Oh, sorry, Draco” he smiled and walked around him towards the kitchen. He didn’t feel like talking to him longer than he needed to.

When he asked Molly if she needed some help, she ordered the two men to set the table. Harry turned around to see Draco standing behind him, slightly blushing. He smiled and they silently set the table.

The meal after was almost as silent between the two of them. The discussion then suddenly turned to the new house guest. There weren’t enough rooms, well maybe there were, but Harry had a feeling that Molly knew something and Ginny definitely knew what was going on between him and Draco.

So, in the end, they decided to have Draco stay in the guest room. Harry’s room. There were three beds inside and Harry didn’t need all of them. When Harry tried to argue that Teddy was also sleeping in said room and that maybe him crying would annoy Draco, the Slytherin spoke up and said that he didn’t really mind. Harry caught Ginny’s amused look.

“It’s settled then” Molly smiled and Percy and the marauders helped cleaning up. Molly didn’t use magic for that, since she enjoyed spending time with her children that way.

Teddy pointed outside, when Harry lifted him off his highchair. He laughed and smiled broadly at his godfather.

“What is it, Teddy? Want to go outside?” Harry asked.

George jumped in and Harry saw his eyes sparkling again. “I think he wants another snowmen fight!”

“No! No more snowmen fights!” Harry rolled his eyes.

Draco looked up a little confused. “Snowmen fight?”

“It’s amazing, Draco, you should try it as well! In fact, why don’t you and Harry fight against us?” Ginny asked and grinned at Harry who tried his hardest not to hex Ginny right there and then in the middle of Molly’s kitchen.

He turned around and looked questioning at the Slytherin. Teddy jumped up and down in Harry’s arms and made it hard to control him.

Draco couldn’t help but grin. “Okay, but you need to be nice to me. It’s my first time fighting with snowmen.”

“Oh well, it’s all of our second time, so we’re not champions, yet” George grinned and grabbed a coat. The rest did so as well, while Harry dressed the toddler and quickly grabbed his own coat. He cast a quick warming charm over Teddy and after some consideration over Draco as well, who jumped up and turned around to look at him rather surprised, but said nothing.

They all built about ten snowmen, Teddy sitting in the snow, patting the white and giggling at all of them. Harry kept focusing on the task at hand, he saw how both Weasleys grinned at each other from time to time. Ginny already knew and he was sure that George wasn’t as thick as Ron, so he would realize it as well. Once all the snowmen stood their ground, they decorated them with all the stuff they would later use as weapons. Harry found a few sticks and stones behind the house. He saw George digging through the piles of snow and realized that their last snowmen war had probably still some things left in the ground.

Teddy wanted to decorate as well and helped Harry pushing stones into the snow. Though, he actually only touched them, once Harry had pushed them inside. Harry also couldn’t stop looking over to what Draco was doing. It wasn’t the best thing to do, since both George and Ginny were observing them rather closely, but he couldn’t help himself.

The Slytherin carefully placed a few stones on a snowman making him grin devilishly. After a few thoughtful seconds, he grabbed two fir cones and placed then on top as if the snowman had horns. Though it looked more as if he had elfish ears. Harry grinned.

“Interesting choice, Draco” he said when he walked by and let Teddy choose a few more sticks.

Draco looked up, as if he had been in another world entirely and blushed a little.

“Thanks.”

After a few more minutes, they were all done. They charmed their armies and made them fight each other. Teddy was laughing happily, when the first few snowmen fell to pieces and decided to throw their heads around. Harry tried to get his team out of their tough spot, because even if it was only their second time fighting, Ginny and George made an incredible team.

Draco got a few hostile snowmen to fall on his front, but a double headed snowman with three arms and a lot of ammunition destroyed his entire front. Harry was sure that it was George’s doing. In the end, Ginny and George won.

Teddy had red cheeks and Harry realized that his warming charm was slowly fading away, so they walked inside again, the sun was also long gone. Molly had five warm drinks on the table and smiled at them.

George and Ginny grabbed their victory drink and excused themselves, definitely talking strategy for future games. Harry sat down and put Teddy on his lap, where he fed him whatever miracle drink Molly had made. Draco sat on the opposite side of the table, after he hesitated and smiled at the two of them.

Harry kissed the top of Teddy’s head, but couldn’t stop himself from looking at the other man. He sighed quietly and when his godson was falling asleep, he placed in a crib inside the kitchen. Molly had transformed random objects around the house so there was a crib in each and every room in the house. Even all of the bedrooms. Once he had sat down again, he grabbed his hot chocolate – presumably – and drank a little. He was aware of the Slytherin looking at him carefully.

After a few quiet moments, where they listened to some Christmas songs in the living room and a discussion that was far away, at least it felt that way, Harry decided to speak up.

“I’m really sorry, by the way. You know, for what happened to you.” He looked at Draco who smiled at him sadly.

He shook his head and answered then. “You don’t have to be sorry. It feels liberating. Father knows and to be honest, he reacted exactly the way I suspected him to react.”

“Which is not really what you want from people” Harry commented.

Draco looked at him curiously. “How about you? Do they know?”

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Ginny knows. I’m pretty sure that George does so as well. But I haven’t actually told anyone.”

The Slytherin nodded carefully. He closed his eyes and held the warm cup with both his hands. “Harry, I… I want you to know that I am really, really sorry. I should have never…” He stopped, apparently unable to finish the sentence and Harry could see tears appearing in his eyes.

He quickly cast a few spells, so the Weasley family wouldn’t look this way and wouldn’t hear anything. Getting up, he smiled at him and sat down next to Draco. He placed his hand on top of Draco’s and squeezed it. That wasn’t really what he should be doing right now, but he couldn’t stop himself from doing it.

“I know you never wanted any of this to happen, Draco. I’ve learned rather quickly that life has its ways to be complicated. Even though it doesn’t have to be. So, the only thing we can do is hope that maybe one day it’s less complicated.”

“I don’t want it to be complicated” Draco whispered and shook his head. He then looked at Harry, which made his heart skip a beat. It was a dangerous game he was playing right now. He shouldn’t be so close, so vulnerable, so open. With Draco, he just couldn’t stop himself. The Slytherin stared back at his drink.

Harry smiled. “Nothing we can do about it.”

Draco looked up, something in his eyes was exactly as dangerous as Harry felt. Something was definitely about to happen, if he didn’t do anything against it.

He cleared his throat and got up. “I… I have to… put Teddy to bed.” He grabbed his sleeping godson and walked up the stairs, ignoring his need to talk to Draco, talk about his feelings and maybe hope for something more. Though there was never ever going to be _more_.

Once inside his room, he placed Teddy in his crib and fell onto his bed, groaning. He wanted the other man, no denying. And, yes, Draco had told his father he was gay, but that didn’t mean that said man was happily giving him a husband. He needed heirs. That man was fixated on his line.

He placed his hands on his eyes, not hearing someone entering the room, until he felt someone sitting down on his bed. Surprised, he startled when he saw Ginny sitting next to him and George grinning, sitting on the floor.

This was going to be interesting. “Hey guys. How can I help you?” he asked, as he sat up.

“We have an offer for you. One time and one time only” George smirked.

Harry shook his head. “I do not like the sound of that.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Oh, you’re going to like it! It’s a plan for getting your dream man!”

“As I said” Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I do not like the sound of that.”

“Oh, but you do!” Ginny laughed.

George agreed and crossed his legs. Just then, when he opened his mouth to tell him the plan, the door opened and both Weasleys jumped up, bid goodnight and were gone quicker than he could say ‘Quidditch’.

Draco, who had stood there and looked confused between the now empty room – except for Harry and Teddy – and the rooms where George and Ginny had disappeared, clearly did not understand what was going on.

“Did I just… Were you guys having some kind of secret meeting? I did not mean to disturb…”

Harry shook his head and interrupted the Slytherin. “If anything, I’m happy you disturbed this ‘secret meeting’. I was ambushed into it.”

Draco chuckled and he looked a little better than before. Harry yawned and climbed into his bed. This day had been unexpected eventful and he was suddenly extremely tired. The Slytherin walked over to his trunk and started looking through it, suddenly getting really devastated.

Harry got up walked over, putting a calming hand on the Slytherin’s shoulder. “What’s wrong Draco?”

“I can’t find my potion” he said slightly frightened. Harry couldn’t really see him like that, so he went to his own trunk and grabbed a vial he had gotten from the other man before their Christmas break.

“Take this one; I don’t need one today.”

Draco kneeled on the floor, his vial in his hand. He looked up at Harry, almost at the brink of another stream of tears. Harry’s heart hurt so much, so he kneeled down himself, tucked the other man’s strain of hair behind his ear and smiled at him. He then pulled him into a hug.

“It’s okay, Draco. I know today was hard and yesterday probably as well. You don’t have to do this alone anymore, okay?”

The Slytherin started crying quietly, his free hand clutched his sweater and Harry softly started rocking from side to side.

He repeated the sentences quietly, just like a mantra. “Everything’s going to be okay, now. It’s okay to cry, love.” It was definitely not okay to call Draco ‘love’, but it felt like he needed it today. More than he needed the truth. Draco slowly calmed down again. Harry was still rocking from side to side, the Slytherin snuggling closer into his touch.

Harry sighed quietly. He needed to go back to reality. “Hey man, I don’t think that’s the best idea” he said, though he was not thinking about letting him go. He needed to be as close to him as possible as well.

“Don’t care” Draco whispered. Harry tried to get up, but the Slytherin held him too tight.

“Listen, you bloody snake” Harry grinned at him. “I’m not letting you sleep alone. I think you might need someone to…” _hold you close_. Harry swallowed quickly. He was not going to say that. “I think you might need someone to help you through nightmares.” That sounded better.

Draco nodded and they got into Draco’s bed. The Slytherin downed his potion and snuggled into Harry, who laid there, listening to the breathing of the two men that meant the world to him. With that he also fell asleep. None of the people in this room heard the door open and two smirking Weasleys looking inside and grinning at each other knowingly.


	60. Maybe it’s Time for a fresh Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is confronted by Hermione, while Draco gets a letter that might give him some hope.

Harry woke up rather quickly, when Teddy started crying. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was and that he was laying in bed with Draco. Harry groaned and sat up, climbed over the still sleeping Slytherin and walked over to his godson. It smelled as if he had a dirty diaper, so he quickly changed it with magic and got dressed quickly, dressing the small toddler as well. Before he left the room, he turned around to look at a sleeping Draco. He looked so peaceful, so handsome and Harry wanted desperatly to give him a kiss, maybe even ontop of his uneven hair, which made him look even more ar home.

They snuck down to the kitchen rather qickly, where Molly was already working. Harry had enjoyed the early mornings, talking with Molly and feeding his godson.

This morning was a little different as Bill, Fleur, Ron and Hermione sat there as well. Harry stopped for a second, before placing Teddy in his high chair and accepting what Molly had made for Teddy as well as a banana.

Bill, Fleur and Ron looked at each other and walked out of the kitchen without saying anything. Hermione looked at him silently, watched him feeding Teddy and when he was almost done, she finally decided to speak up.

“Harry, I’m sorry. I know adopting Teddy is important for you and I should have supported you from the beginning. It’s just… It’s something I wouldn’t do right now, but he looks really happy.”

Harry looked to his godson, who was happily munching something. “Thank you Hermione. He makes me incredibly happy as well.” Yes, he wouldn’t know where he would be without him. Even the marauders being here and learning new things didn’t do anything against his happiness.

“I see that now. And I hope you accept my apologies. I never wanted there to be a rift between us” Hermione explained quietly.

Smiling at her, he shook his head. “There never was a rift between us and I will, of course, accept your apologies.”

He got up and hugged his best friend. They were however interrupted by another person. “And, we have a happy ending!” James shouted and clapped his hands as if he had been watching a show.

Harry rolled his eyes, but Hermione was quicker in answering. “Don’t you have to drink your Polyjuice Potion?”

James shook his head and behind him, Sirius appeared with an explanation. “Actually, Mrs. Weasley allowed us to stay in our natural forms. We have to drink something if there are strangers approaching or if she’s calling one of our fake names. Also, Remus has to drink this stupid potion, so he can’t transform either way.”

They discussed their problems with Hermione for a minute, while Harry fed his godson and when Draco walked down, he could hear Hermione surprisingly calling out for him.

“Draco Malfoy? What are you doing here?”

The Slytherin apparently wasn’t sure how to answer that and once he was inside the kitchen, he looked at Harry for help.

Harry grinned. “There’s tea ready to drink on the stove, if you’d like coffee, Molly keeps it above the tea kettle and for hot chocolate, you need to look next to the fridge for some powder.” He turned to his best friend, who looked at him as if he had just asked a camel for directions. “Draco was thrown out of his home and came to stay here.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh, sorry to hear that, Draco” Hermione answered and gave him a reassuring smile.

Draco nodded quietly and got some tea. There was also something on the stove for him to eat. Hermione was now hiding in the living room, undoubtedly telling Ron, Bill and Fleur who just came to live with the Weasleys.

“Sleep well?” Harry asked, once the Slytherin sat down and began eating. Teddy had stopped trying to get everything as quickly as possible into his mouth and Harry could tell he was about done.

“Yes, thank you. I’m sorry for taking away your potion.”

He smiled at the Slytherin and shook his head. “No worries, Draco. I was tired last night and I would have slept without a potion anyway. It’s also _your_ potion.”

Winking at the other man, Harry grabbed his godson and sat him down on his knees, where he played with a wooden spoon again.

Draco snorted and rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe that you’re already starting with those stupid, mildly enjoying dad jokes. Come on, you’re better than that.”

Harry laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, mate.”

Before he could joke around a little more, an impatient great horned owl was hacking away at the window. Draco, seeing that Harry couldn’t really open the window, went over and let it inside. The owl stayed outside and stretched its leg closer to Draco.

“It’s for me” he remarked a little surprised, retrieved the letter and closed the window again, once the owl was gone. He opened the letter and frowned.

Harry waited for him to say something, but he just stood there, everything else forgotten. Only when Teddy squeaked over Sirius, having transformed into a dog and doing stunts for the little man, Draco came back into the real world.

Sirius was doing all kinds of things, walking on his back legs, rolling over and trying to clap. Teddy, imitating the dog, once again almost slapped Harry in his face. The dog huffed and Harry was sure that it was Sirius trying to laugh in dog form.

Just then, Molly walked in and frowned at the dog. “Sirius Black, dogs have to stay outside, so either change back or walk out to where the dogs belong!”

Within seconds, Sirius stood in front of her as a human being again. He was only wearing jeans and Molly demanded he’d go and get dressed properly. They both left the kitchen, Molly almost chasing Sirius back up the stairs. Teddy squeaked again and Harry was chuckling. Draco sat down next to Harry and showed him the letter.

“It’s from my mother. She’s going to ask the Greengrass family if they could withdraw the marriage contract.”

Harry looked up at Draco, surprised. “She can do that?”

“It’s against the pureblood rules, but maybe they’ll accept it. She’s always been rather convincing.”

He didn’t know what to say, so he looked at Teddy on his knees. It would be amazing, if Narcissa managed to talk Astoria’s parents out of the contract, but he didn’t really want to believe it just yet. There was still a gaze lingering on him and he knew that the Slytherin was following whatever he was doing, trying to decode his actions.

“That would be nice” he said, still focusing on Teddy.

He felt a hand on his arm and hesitantly looked up into those beautiful whirlwind eyes. His breath hitched and he couldn’t think of anything else. He forced himself to focus on something else, still feeling the electricity from only a simple touch. Draco’s hand was also still on his arm. Looking up again, he swallowed as he looked back into Draco’s eyes.

“It would be nice?” the Slytherin asked amused.

Harry rolled his eyes and grinned slightly. “You know what I mean.”

“I do not, Harry. Please elaborate.”

The only thing he could do was shake his head and turning back to Teddy. Draco’s hand was still on his arm and he couldn’t really focus on anything else. His godson clearly didn’t want to sit around any longer, so he placed him on the floor, where he crawled to the living floor.

“Oh no, your distraction’s gone, Harry. What now?” Draco grinned. He had apparently gained a little bit of confidence back.

Harry looked at the Slytherin, he felt the heat in his face and tried to stand up. Draco’s hand pulled him back down. He looked around and saw that all the people who were awake right now, sat in the living room.

Turning back to Draco, he frowned a little. “You want me to elaborate, Draco? I’ve already told you I have feelings for you. So, yes. It would be nice if you didn’t have the excuse of having to marry someone else. That way we could get to know us better.”

“It’s not an excuse, Potter.” Draco rolled his eyes.

“Oh, we’re back to last names, _Malfoy_? How original.”

Draco glared at him and rolled his eyes. “What I’m trying to say, _Potter_ , is that I’d like it as well if I could get to know you even better.” He winked and Harry couldn’t stop himself from smacking him in his shoulder.

“Behave, Draco! You’re a guest here.”

“As are you!” Draco laughed.

Harry grinned. “In that case, there are children present.”

“Children who don’t understand what’s going on” the Slytherin remarked and looked at him as if he was waiting for another comment he could destroy.

He was not going to give him the satisfaction of doing that. “I think I’ll leave you to eat your breakfast alone.” He got up, but was pulled down once again.

Draco looked indignant, though it seemed to be another act. Harry tried to get his arm free, but the Slytherin was holding him tightly.

“Are you trying to make my hand fall off?”

“Just stop getting away and I’ll let you free” Draco commented, drinking his tea as if he wasn’t doing anything wrong.

Harry rolled his eyes and held his hands up in surrender. Draco let go and he decided not to chance it and run away. He couldn’t stop looking over to the other man and noticed the same happening to him.

He was quietly eating breakfast, while Harry had nothing to do, so he settled on stealing food off the other’s plate. That worked well twice. The third time, Draco pushed his hand away and attacked him, by tickling him, still having food in his mouth.

Harry yelped and tried to get out of the Slytherin’s clutches. Draco didn’t only hold him firmly in place, but could tickle him at the same time, which made him laugh loudly and he tried with his hands and feet to get away.

Eventually, he was lying on the floor, when Molly and Ginny walked into the kitchen, Bill, Ron and Hermione peering in from the living room. Draco pretended nothing happened and ate his breakfast as if he had done nothing.

“Harry, what are you doing on the floor?” Ginny asked, having a hard time hiding her amusement.

He stood up and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I must have fallen off a chair” he said with an accusing look at the Slytherin, while he brushed off some dirt.

“You really should watch what you’re doing. The kitchen is a dangerous place” Draco answered grinning. Molly, who was either ignoring what happened or oblivious to it, agreed with Draco, which made him and Ginny giggle out of control. Harry only rolled his eyes.

“I’m leaving you, _Malfoy_. And that is your fault, now.”

Draco seemed to be okay with it, as he let him part without stopping him. Ginny sat across from him and they started talking about something. Harry went into the living room, where he was bombarded with question he didn’t answer. Everyone but Hermione had something to ask and Harry saw her smirking a little. She definitely knew something was up.

George walked into the room, a toddler on his arm and smiling from ear to ear. “Harry, if he keeps saying ‘banana’ should we give him something to eat?”

Harry grinned. “No, he calls everything banana.”

“Got it” George turned back at the toddler in his arms and he looked so happy. Everyone had those moments where they realized that a choice they made was correct. Harry realized just now that adopting Teddy didn’t only give him some peace of mind, but also helped George.

They luckily changed the topic and Fleur asked him if he had any parenting tip. Seeing that it had only been a week, since he had become a parent, he didn’t really feel comfortable pretending to know everything.

In the end, they stayed in the living room talking, until everyone living there had assembled and they played games after games, talking, having fun and Harry felt himself being drawn to the Slytherin all throughout the morning and even on the afternoon.

After some time, he decided to go on a walk with Teddy. Ginny called after him and he turned around again.

“Hey, Harry! What if you take Draco with you, show him around so he knows what he can expect here.”

Hermione smirked and was definitely behind this idea, while Molly and George agreed as well and soon enough Draco was basically thrown out of the comfortable house and had to walk around with Harry and Teddy. Suspiciously, nobody else wanted to join them.

Harry cast another warming charm around Teddy and once again around Draco, who shuddered, but smiled a beautiful smile, before composing himself and turning around to face him with raised eyebrows.

“Just so you know, I don’t need to be kept warm. I’m not a child anymore.”

Shrugging, Harry smirked at the Slytherin. “Better safe than sorry and I don’t remember you having anything against it yesterday.”

He grinned when he saw Draco desperately trying to come up with something to say against this comment. He shoved the Slytherin a little to bring him back to reality and they walked with Teddy sitting in the buggy and enjoying the fresh air.

“Do they all know?” Draco asked after a while of walking through the white wonderland.

Harry chuckled. He wanted to ask what he meant by his question, though he was certain that Draco was asking if they knew they liked each other. “Ginny and Hermione do, George as well and I think Molly assumes things. The rest… probably as well.”

Draco shook his head. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts again. Harry smiled and decided to be a little bold: he slipped his hand into Draco’s. The Slytherin looked up in surprise and Harry felt a little heat rising to his head, but neither let go.

They walked through winter wonderland, enjoying the silent time spent together and how Teddy seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. When they returned to the house, they saw Hermione, Ron, Percy and Bill fighting with a snowmen army against James, Sirius, Ginny and George. Remus was sitting in the middle, enjoying being in the middle of snow. From what it looked like, Ginny’s team was better and Ron was frantically trying to fight another two headed snowman, while Hermione threw some more charms at her snowmen so they’d be stronger.

Draco squeezed Harry’s hand, before he let go. Harry already missed his hand and bit his lower lip, so he wouldn’t give it away too much. However, if everyone here already suspected that they both had a thing for the other… why should he even try and hide it?

The Slytherin grabbed some snow and pressed it into a snowball, throwing it at George, who lost concentration and as a result let Ron destroy his snowman.

“Malfoy!” George called over and made one of the snowmen run after Draco, who let out a surprised scream and hid behind Harry, who couldn’t stop laughing, until the snowman was fairly close.

“George, take back your snowman or I’ll make it explode!” Harry yelled and took out his wand, threatening, when the snowman decided to sneak after Ron, who didn’t realize what was happening, until Ginny told him so.

Harry grabbed some snow as well and threw it at James, who was just fighting Percy and Bill and had almost won. But the snow in his face made him jump and the snowman in his control crumbled.

“That’s unfair game play!” Sirius shouted and grabbed some snow as well, throwing it at Harry, who dodged it without any problem.

“I’m not even playing, Sirius” he laughed, but was surprised by snow hitting the back of his head. Draco stood there, looking at Teddy in a surprised manner. “Nice try, Draco” Harry grinned, pushed him into the snow and threw some more over him.

In the end, once Ginny’s team had won nonetheless, they all headed back inside, frozen but happy. Harry couldn’t take his eyes off the blissful smile on Draco’s face. It made him warm inside and his stomach turn in the best way possible.


	61. How to stop Time

Harry woke up to the man next to him stirring. He yawned and wanted to rub his eyes, only to realize that he was still wearing his glasses. So, he snuggled closer to the smell he loved so much. Draco sighed quietly but happy and turned to face him. Harry just wanted to protest that he did not want to get up, when he looked into those beautiful grey eyes with a slight blue circle around the pupils and smiled. His hair was messed up and all over the place, but Harry saw the pure joy of life finally returning to his eyes. 

The sun was already shining and trying to force its way through the blinds into the dimly lit room. Several books they had been looking through yesterday evening were plastered over the floor and on the right side of the bed was a crib with a sleeping Teddy inside. However, Harry only had eyes for the man in his bed. He didn’t even remember falling asleep and it was even more surprising that Draco didn’t use his own bed but apparently decided to sleep in here – or he too fell asleep and didn’t have the energy left to move.

“Morning” Draco whispered and Harry immediately realized how close they were. He swallowed hard and smiled hesitantly at the Slytherin.

“Hey.”

Draco didn’t say anything else, simply stared at Harry, who suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He felt the need to get some distance between them. The only problem was that he couldn’t escape. Draco was blocking the way out of bed and his own back was against the wall. Theoretically, he could have gone out of bed over the foot or the headboard, but he really didn’t want to. He was trapped in the world that Draco’s eyes seemed to project only for him.

“You have beautiful eyes” Harry said finally and realized rather quickly that it might have been a little weird, so he lowered his eyes a little bit in shame.

Draco smiled at him. “Thank you. I do want to give you the same complement, but I think you’re getting tired of hearing that your eyes are beautiful.”

Harry chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, as well as that worked in bed. He propped himself up on one elbow and turned his attention back to the Slytherin’s face. He never noticed all those small things, the very masculine looking jaw and these thin, slightly rose colored lips.

Suddenly, the Slytherin pushed Harry back into the bed and lay on top of him. “Why are you looking at me as if you want to memorize everything?”

There was a rush of heat traveling to Harry’s face. He couldn’t look at the other man's eyes, while he spoke. He simply watched his lips moving. His heart started racing, trying to outrun… something. Only after a few minutes did he realize, that he still hadn’t answered Draco’s question.

“I… I’m not l-looking” he stuttered, but couldn’t bring himself to not look at the smirk the Slytherin suddenly had on his face. He felt the warm, soft skin on his and the weight of the Malfoy heir pushing him into the mattress, giving him absolutely no space to escape.

“It looks to me as if you’re staring, Harry” he said softly and wet his lips. Harry swallowed hard and tried to get away from Draco. However, he had pinned him down really well and after a few seconds, he stopped and accepted his fate.

His gaze wandered down to the other man's neck and he admired the soft, almost white looking skin of the Slytherin. His pajama top was slightly crooked and gave him a small view into his clothes. The strong, broad shoulders were framed by muscles and the very end of a not so old scar. He felt it was suddenly really hard to breath, looking back at Draco’s face, where he saw a miniscule smile.

A strain of blonde hair fell into his face, covering half of Draco’s eyes. Harry hesitantly reached up and tucked it back behind the other man’s ear, suddenly shivering as if he was met with something weird. His stomach turned quickly and he looked back into the Slytherin’s eyes.

“Hi” Draco said quietly and smiled at him, almost in a knowing way.

“Hey.” Harry couldn’t think of anything else to say. It was the second time this morning that he had said that, but the Slytherin seemed to take away his way of speaking.

He felt a hand traveling down his shoulder, over his arms and towards his hand. Wherever it touched him, it felt like fire, a good kind of fire and he shuddered, though he tried to play it off as it being cold in here.

“I think the… the window might be open a bit” his voice was hoarse and he looked over to the window, tying his best not to feel the electricity running through his body from every small touch from the Slytherin.

“Yeah?”

Harry nodded and traced the edge of the bed with his free hand. He was feeling dizzy, but there was no clear reason as to why.

“If you’re cold, you could just come closer” Draco whispered closely to his ear and Harry shivered. He felt Draco’s hot breath on his skin, making him feel all sorts of things he couldn’t describe. He bit his lower lip and smiled slightly.

The Slytherin chuckled, while putting some distance between their faces and when Harry looked back, his eyes had changed. They were suddenly so soft and warm and… and lovingly. He had never seen something like that before. His mouth went dry and he wanted to say something, just something. Nothing came out.

Their hands intertwined and Harry’s breath hitched. He placed his free hand on Draco’s chest and clutched his top tightly. The other man’s free hand was placed next to Harry’s head on the mattress.

Harry closed his eyes, inhaled the familiar smell of roses, pine trees and chocolate and felt the safety of Draco being so close. The Slytherin was playing with his fingers and he felt a hand on his cheeks. When he opened his eyes again, the other man was looking at him with his pupils dilated.

He let go of Draco’s shirt and moved his hands to cup the Slytherin’s cheek. Before he could do anything else, Draco leaned over him and stopped inches away from his lips. Harry’s breath hitched again, he felt the electricity between them, the need, he wanted it. He wanted Draco. He needed him. He couldn’t stop himself and moved his head up to finally kiss him.

The electricity traveled through his entire body, he shivered and closed his eyes. Draco’s lips were warm and softer than Harry would have ever imagined. Even though they hadn’t eaten anything, he tasted like chocolate and vanilla. It was the sweetest kiss, he had ever had. Nothing felt rushed, Draco’s hand let go of Harry’s and ran through his hair. Harry wrapped his arms around the Slytherin’s neck and pulled him even closer.

Before they could deepen the kiss, a small whimper, followed by a crying Teddy brought them apart. Harry immediately let go of Draco and crawled out from under him to grab his godson. He held him in his arm and rocked from side to side. He was aware that he was being watched rather closely. When Teddy calmed down, he looked back at the Slytherin, still lying in his bed, smiling at him.

“What?”

Draco chuckled. “That’s your response to us kissing?”

“No” Harry shook his head and smiled at him. “That’s my response to you looking at me. My response to us kissing would be...” He narrowed his eyes while thinking and rocked Teddy a little bit. “Oh my god, I’ve kissed Draco Malfoy!” he whispered to his godson, but loud enough for Draco to hear him.

The other man fell on his back and laughed. “Well, my response would be: Why didn’t we kiss earlier! It was amazing! I kissed _Harry Potter_!”

Harry rolled his eyes. He looked back at Teddy, who was half asleep again by now and placed him back in his crib. He then walked over to Draco and crawled onto the bed.

“You are a very good kisser, Draco Malfoy.” 

The Slytherin chuckled and turned his head to face him. He raised a hand and ran it through Harry’s hair. “I’m not so sure, if I’d say the same about you…”

“Hey!”

“I might need to be convinced.”

Harry grinned and slowly moved his hand over the other man’s face, softly following the line of his lips with his thumb, until he came down for another kiss again. His hand wandered to the other’s neck and drew circles on his skin. The Slytherin opened his mouth and Harry followed his lead. This kiss was still as innocent as the last one, and Harry was happy it was not as hungry as he had seen some students kissing. It was just… perfect. Draco’s tongue moved into his mouth, searching, loving. Harry let him lead the kiss until they both had to part and were panting for some air, though Draco was sucking at his lower lip for a while. It made Harry feel all kinds of stuff and he loved it.

They never broke their eye contact, until it knocked on the door. Harry jumped up, opened the door slightly and blocked the view into the room with his own body. Hermione stood there and smiled at him. Harry hoped that whatever Draco and he had done wasn’t too obvious, though it clearly was. Hermione wasn’t oblivious to things like that.

“Molly wants you downstairs, she heard Teddy crying” she explained.

Harry nodded. “Got it. Let me just get some clothes on and dress Teddy, then we’re coming down.” With that he closed the door again, smiled at Draco and shrugged his shoulders.

“Enough of that, Draco. We need to get up.”

Draco shook his head. “ _You_ need to get up. They never said anything about me.” He yawned, but jumped, when Harry tickled him quickly. “Do not even think about that, Potter!”

Harry laughed and wanted to get away from Draco to dress Teddy, when he felt two strong hands on his waist, pulling him down, pressing him against another body.

“Two can play that game, Harry” the Slytherin whispered against his neck and before Harry could ask what game, he was being tickled by Draco. He laughed and tried to get out of the hug and away from his hands, but the blond wizard seemed to have full control over him. He pushed Harry into the bed again and climbed on top of him. He leaned down, kissing his neck, while tickling his waist. Harry laughed and exposed a little bit more skin on his neck, while simultaneously trying to get away with all his strength, but Draco held him firmly in place, not letting him escape or get near anything helpful.

After a few moments, Draco stopped and smiled at Harry, who was still chuckling a little. He leaned over him again and stopped, inches away from his lips. Harry swallowed and closed his eyes. There was something about being so close, so near to each other that he couldn’t resist. He threw he arms around the blond’s neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. This was what everyone was talking about. Being happy with someone else. Feeling like something had been missing and having found it in another person.

This time, though, it wasn’t Teddy or Hermione who interrupted them, but Ginny who closed the door loudly behind her. Draco jumped from the bed and walked over to his trunk, as if nothing ever happened.

“I would say ‘get a room’, but you guys already have one” she commented dryly and rolled her eyes. “You two better get down to the kitchen in the next five minutes, otherwise, I’ll tell everyone what I’ve just witnessed.”

Ginny left again and Draco looked up from his open trunk. “She can be scary.”

Harry grinned, walked over to him, for one short kiss. Now that he could get them, he couldn’t actually get enough of the Slytherin. He then grabbed Teddy to get him dressed. “Hey, Draco” he turned to see the Slytherin topless. His heart started racing again and this time he could see all the muscles and both broad shoulders. And sadly, all his scars… He almost forgot what he wanted to say. And Draco… he looked at him as if he had been planning this all year long. “I just… I… this was my first time kissing a man.”

Draco walked over and put his arms around Harry’s waist, then pulling him closer to his naked chest. Harry snuggled into the other man’s embrace and closed his eyes. Even Teddy in his arms seemed to be happy.

“I feel honored to be your first” Draco said smirking and kissed Harry’s cheek. “But I think we need to go down as quickly as possible. I’m not ready for everyone to know about this, just yet.”

“Me neither” Harry said, kissed Draco’s neck, feeling the blond wizard pulling him even closer, and escaped from his hug to quickly dress himself and Teddy, before walking down, not looking at Draco. He was afraid that another look would end in something more and that Ginny would actually tell everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know there's no summary, but sometimes a summary's a bad idea ;)  
> And I wanted to surprise you, though I think after some sentences, it was clear where it headed. Next chapter will follow in a few days. Enjoy the memory until then :D


	62. Good Time Charlie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally Christmas Time, Charlie's home and the presents are given out, along with some surprises.

The first person to greet Harry downstairs was Charlie. He had a few more scars and some bruises, but he looked very happy. “Hey Harry! I heard you became a father! You know I’ve always wanted to…”

“You’re not going to adopt a dragon, Charlie!” Molly’s voice sounded from the kitchen. Harry chuckled and Charlie winked at him, before saying hi to Teddy.

His godson had been a little quiet, but he grinned, when the newest family member took out a small dragon. It was Harry’s dragon that he'd had to get so that the players in the Triwizard’s Tournament knew which one they had to fight. Harry gave his to Charlie because… well, it reminded him of Cedric and secondly, Charlie was much better equipped to take care of a dragen – even a tiny one. Apparently, it had become the people’s mascot and they loved it. When Charlie showed him to the new people, it spread its tiny wings and started to circle the Christmas tree, before flying back and settling on Harry’s shoulders. Teddy’s eyes were glowing and he laughed loudly, before Charlie took it back again.

Hermione and Ron walked in and settled down on an arm chair, where she sat in his lap and soon enough all the people inside the house were settled in the living room, Harry sitting next to George and Draco on the sofa, his godson on his lap. Draco kept ‘accidentally’ touching him, while playing with Teddy and he couldn’t resist, but sent a few smiles in the Slytherin’s direction.

When Molly finally walked in and presented breakfast, they couldn’t wait. She seemed extremely happy, that her family was around. Draco’s eyes must have fallen on the presents under the tree as he frowned at Harry.

“Are you having presents twice?”

Harry laughed quietly and shook his head. “Molly wanted to celebrate Christmas with everyone and Charlie couldn’t be here at Christmas, so we sort of postponed it all.”

After breakfast, they opened their presents. Harry got a lot of clothes for Teddy, which he thought was hilarious, as he made the same presents for Fleur. Ginny was freaking out over her broom and was outside as soon as the presents were opened. Hermione hugged him tightly for the present he gave Ron, he knew she was a little scared that something might happen to him.

Draco was extremely surprised, when Molly gave him a present and he carefully opened it to find a famous Weasley sweater. It was silvery green and had a bluish dragon at the back and a red D on the front.

“I don’t know what to say…” the Slytherin said and stroked the fabric. “Thank you.”

Harry looked to Molly and grinned. “Did you actually knit a sweater in less than a day?”

Arthur laughed and hugged his wife. “By now, she could knit those in her sleep.”

Draco was carried away by his present, Harry was sure that he couldn’t hear anything that was going on around him. It was sweet, as even the marauders got some small presents – mostly sweets. But all looked like they now belonged to the family, which he loved.

Most of the Weasley’s were outside, Hermione laid her head on the shoulder of her boyfriend and Charlie was playing with Teddy, while the marauders were fighting George, Percy and Bill in their snowmen war. Harry had changed into his sweater and sat next to Draco, grabbing some cookies.

Molly and Arthur were behaving a little weird for a few minutes, but then they finally brought out a final gift, which made everyone charge back into the room. Harry was confused and it looked like Draco and Hermione were as well. The rest looked like they had been waiting for this moment the entire time.

Harry frowned and looked around the room. “I think I’m missing something” he murmured. Molly handed him a small envelope. He sat straighter and looked around to see everyone looking at him expectantly.

“What’s going on?” he asked carefully. No one was answering and Arthur gestured to the envelope, which he finally opened.

Inside was a stack of papers and Harry frowned at them, until he read the title. _For the adoption of an adult, namely_ , then there was his name written in beautiful cursive lettering. _Harry James Potter_.

He stared at it and felt himself trembling slightly. He looked up to Molly and Arthur, who were visibly nervous and probably worried what he might think about it.

“You… You want to adopt me?” he asked quietly. He felt his eyes tear up and bit his lower lip until he felt like he had himself under control again.

Molly nodded and it seemed as if she was also about to start crying. “Well you see, we already consider you an honorary son and we thought it would be nice for you to for once have an actual family.”

Ginny sat down next to him and smiled broadly. “They asked all of us children if we’d be okay with it and we really want you to be our brother. I mean, I’d rather have a sister, but…”

Harry laughed and hugged her, before he got up and walked over to Molly. “I think that would be amazing.”

He had no idea what happened afterward. He remembered a huge group hug of all the Weasley’s, no dry eyes and only happy faces. They all went back to doing what they did before Harry decided to become their brother and Harry walked to the kitchen, trying to figure out what just happened.

In the kitchen, he felt someone grabbing his arm and as he turned around he saw his father and friends on front of him.

That was going to be an interesting discussion. Remus closed the door and Harry already sighed. “Ask away, guys. I don’t think I can hide whatever you want to know.”

James looked a little hurt, when he finally started to talk, after they’d all stayed quiet and Sirius and Remus looking at his father. “I need to know Harry… Do you… What happens when I die? What happens to you?”

Harry frowned. “Hold on… How do you know about…”

“Neville told us” his father blushed slightly.

Harry smiled a little. Well that made sense. Maybe he should have told Neville about his father and friends. But then again, maybe it was okay just like that. “Some relatives take care of me.”

“But you don’t count them as family?” Sirius asked frowning.

Shaking his head, Harry though quickly about what he could say now that wouldn’t reveal too much. “They never much cared about me. So, I was happy getting the possibility to live in Hogwarts for most of the year.”

Sirius stepped forward and seemed to want to say something. Just then, the door opened and Draco walked in. He looked at the situation and frowned. “What’s going on here?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“Nothing” Remus answered and grabbed his friends to walk outside and undoubtedly talk about the information they had just acquired.

Draco smiled at Harry, once the door was closed again and walked closer, where he could move his hand to the back of Harry’s neck. He came even closer and gently kissed the soft skin under his ear.

Harry shivered and put his arms around the Slytherin’s neck. “We shouldn’t do that right now. Anyone could walk in, Draco” he whispered, but pulled him closer anyway.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, calinours” Draco spoke softly against his ear, which made Harry shiver again. He didn’t want to let go. Never again. He could stay like this for all eternity.

Draco’s other hand moved to Harry’s ass and squeezed it. Harry jumped and pushed a grinning Draco back rather aggressively. “You are such an idiot!” He tried to stay angry, but Draco couldn’t stop laughing silently, which made Harry chuckle after a few seconds. And to be honest... why should he be angry about something like that?! He rolled his eyes, when the door opened and Hermione and Ron walked in.

Ron seemed to be oblivious to everything, as he grabbed something from the fridge, while Hermione looked between the two men suspiciously. It only became more suspicious, when Draco couldn’t keep his mask of indifference under control and burst out laughing after a few seconds.

Harry glared at Draco, Ron stood there as if he had only just realized that he wasn’t alone in the kitchen and Hermione shook her head.

“Do I even want to know what happened here?”

Draco’s eyes sparkled with mischief, so when he opened his mouth, Harry silently cast a voice removing spell. The Slytherin was not amused, but Harry shrugged his shoulders. He did not want the Slytherin talking about what had happened.

“Nothing you want to know, Hermione. We just need to talk about something.”

Draco crossed his arms over his chest, leaning at the wall and throwing him a death glare. Ron was definitely confused. He grabbed something to eat and was gone in mere seconds. Hermione on the other hand stood in the door frame, smirking at both of them.

“I’m sure you have to _talk_ about something.” She removed Harry’s jinx and closed the door quickly.

Harry turned to Draco, blushing a little. He had no idea what the Slytherin would do now, especially because he had never really taken away his voice before. Even now, that he could theoretically speak, he apparently decided to give him the silent treatment.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Draco pulled him towards him and pushed him into the wall. “What was that, Harry? Scared I would reveal all of your secrets?” his face was dangerously close. Harry couldn’t concentrate on anything. He was sure that he couldn’t speak anymore. His heart was racing and when he placed his hand on top of Draco’s chest, he felt the other’s heart almost outdoing his.

Harry didn’t know what to do, so he looked at those beautiful eyes. There was a slight smile on the Slytherin’s lips and he shook his head slightly as if to tell him that he would never reveal a secret. His fingers traced Harry’s jaw line. He leaned closer and stopped inches in front of his lips, before kissing the edge of his mouth instead. When Harry growled disapprovingly, Draco grinned at him.

“You didn’t think I’d reward you for taking my voice, did you?” he asked smirking and let his fingers trail over Harry’s chest. Harry felt his hot breath ghosting over his neck. So this was how this was going to be… He was trying to drive him into insanity. Frankly, it was about to work.

“In my opinion” he started again and gave Harry another almost kiss, only to avoid his mouth, “I think I should punish you much more!”

Harry gathered all his strength to keep his senses and to answer to that. “You… you sh-shouldn’t have s…” He trembled when Draco placed a feather light kiss on his shoulder. He had lost all of his words and tried hard to think about what he had wanted to say.

“I shouldn’t have what, mon enclume?” Draco whispered into Harry’s ear, peppering some more ghost kisses over his sensitive skin under his ear. Harry was breathing heavily. He had his eyes closed and his hands around the blond wizard’s neck, searching frantically for some kind of stability.

His fingers trailed Harry’s shoulders, moving under the sweater, making him shiver. It was like fire on his skin. Another set of ghost kisses were placed on his neck and Harry moaned and ripped his eyes open, embarrassment quite visible.

Draco chuckled and finally gave him an actual kiss. Even though he was way too short. “So, I’m not allowed to squeeze your ass?”

Harry felt heat in his face and bit his lower lip. Draco touched Harry’s forehead with his own and smiled at him. He looked at him grinning and was just about to tease him again, when the door closed with a bang and made them both jump away from each other.

Ginny stood there (once again), hands on her hips, looking at them critically. “I’ve said it already and I will say it again: Get a room!” She shook her head. “Honestly, what if Ron walked in here? He just walked out, saying how nice it was to see you guys not fighting. I’m not sure he’d like to see his best friend kissing a Slytherin, no offence.”

“None taken” Draco grinned. “And for your information, we weren’t kissing.”

“Yes, yes, so I’ve heard. You squeezed his butt and he took your voice so you decided to punish him for it” Ginny rolled her eyes. “And that last bit actually looked like a real kiss…”

Harry frowned and looked at Draco quickly. “Um, Gin… How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.”

Draco laughed loudly. “I think so too! You almost saw everything that happened.”

Ginny grabbed the cake and ordered Draco to bring it out into the living room. The Slytherin followed whatever she had ordered him to do. So now, Harry was left. He frowned at his soon to be sister.

“Got a job for me as well? Or did you just want to get Draco out of here?”

“Mostly the latter” she grinned at him. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m happy for you. And I was right, wasn’t I? There’s a happy ending for everyone!”

Harry laughed and rolled his eyes. “You were right, yes Ginny.”

Before they could keep talking, Draco peeked inside and grinned at them both. “George asked me for a rematch and James wants to be on our team, beating Sirius, George and you” he nodded towards Ginny.

The witch grinned and looked between the two of them. “I’m in! You guys are way too distracted by each other to even perform well.”

“That was before the kiss” Harry whispered, as they left the kitchen and walked by the others. He saw Remus playing with Teddy and Arthur and his heart melted away.

“Keep telling yourself that!” Ginny laughed and grabbed her coat. Harry rolled her eyes, but grinned at Draco. When they left the house, George was already warming up, jumping around shouting intimidating things towards James, who threw some snowballs towards Sirius, laughing about it.

When they saw them arriving, they immediately started creating some snowmen. James worked away quickly and Harry was correct. He was less distracted by Draco than before they had kissed. It was still distracting how good he was looking, concentrating on his snowmen and grinning widely. And he should definitely not think about that teasing from before…

Their army was standing after some time and Harry felt how he could concentrate even better right now. “Let’s do this!” he shouted and sent his snowmen into the first front, fighting Ginny and George. Draco followed suit and James apparently decided to attack from the side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enclume is French for anvil; it means that the person, you’re saying it to, means a lot to you.


	63. Some Questions can be answered with Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James, Sirius and Remus get together to collect all the information they gathered and while snooping around they make a discovery they weren't ready for.

James closed the door and took out a small paper book, which they had filled with notes. Not just any notes, no. They were notes about their lives. Each person had a double page and at the end were notes about the lives of all the important people in Harry’s life, such as Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and at the very end: Malfoy. They had only added him recently, after deciding that these two needed to be set up together. Yet somehow, they hadn’t needed their help. Harry’s drunken confession might have done the trick, who knew.

Remus and Sirius sat on the floor, waiting for James, who grinned and joined them. It was time to recall what happened, write down some question that needed to be answered and discuss their next few steps.

He opened the booklet at the first double page. The title of this page was ‘James’. There were some questions written on the page, which were underlined for their importance. And even though James doubted he would ever find out the truth, he sort of wanted to. The questions were:

> 1) Who is James’ wife?  
> 2) Why do we die?  
> 3) How can we undo this? 

The rest of one page was filled with information: Harry was James’ son, he died when Harry was one year old… That pretty much was it.

“Did you guys find out more about me?” James asked and frowned at the page. “I feel like they never really talk about me…”

Remus shrugged his shoulders. “Probably because they don’t really have memories of you.” James just wanted to say something angry, but Remus spoke quickly. “I mean, you die when he’s one year old. There's probably no memory of you inside his head.”

Sighing, James had to agree. He turned the page and found ‘Sirius’ written on top. The information they had gathered was that he died during a fight in the Ministry. Harry wanted to save his life, but he saved Harry’s. And he made himself responsible for Sirius’ death. Which didn’t happen through the Killing Curse. He was Harry’s godfather and seemed to have played an important role in his life so far.

“I heard Harry say that I was his worst goodbye… I guess my death was” Sirius said quietly.

James nodded and wrote it down as well. “So, the question would be… How do you die?” While Sirius agreed, he started writing some more questions. Right now they had:

> 1) Did Harry kill Sirius? – NO  
> 2) What exactly happens during the fight at the Ministry? (where are all the Time Turners)  
> 3) How does Sirius die?

“I have something else, which I haven’t told you yet” Sirius started carefully and both James and Remus frowned. If Sirius wouldn’t say something, that couldn’t be good…

He took a deep breath and started talking. “Before Harry got attacked and was in the Hospital Wing, I hid in front of the door and listened to what they were talking. You know that already.”

“Yes, that’s how we know that you were his worst goodbye” James agreed.

Sirius nodded. “I found something else, which I needed to assimilate first…” he hesitated and James looked worriedly over to Remus, who was just as confused as he was. “Apparently, I don’t get Harry, when you die.”

It was quiet for some time, before James shook his head. “What? But that’s what a godfather’s here for!”

“I know! And I don’t understand why I’m not his legal guardian!”

Remus was still frowning. “What did he say exactly?”

“Something about how he wished that he could be a real family with me” Sirius remembered.

James was playing with his quill and stared into the book. They were all quiet, each of them having their own demons to face and things to think through.

“I think I’ll write that as a question” James remarked after some time. “Why can’t you two be a family?”

> 4) Why aren't Harry and Sirius a family?

Sirius and Remus nodded. And while James wrote the question number four, Remus put a reassuring hand on his arm. It was interesting, how they were slowly building to a lot of information. When James turned the page, ‘Remus’ was written on top and they had already started the next page with information.

The very first information being that Remus fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and died in it. Harry and his friends knew he was a werewolf, but weren’t scared of him. There is a potion for werewolves, but it’s disgusting (according to Remus). There was a very special connection between Harry and Remus later in life, he was a Professor. Harry also refused to tell him anything about a Patronus, so that must be very important, somehow. And he had a son, named Teddy.

As always, there were also some questions:

> 1) What will Moony teach?  
> 2) Who’s the wife?

“Any other question?” James asked, but none of them had any more questions. At least for now, everything seemed to be clear.

When James turned the page, the two pages were scribbled full of notes about ‘Harry’. They had found out so many things! Yet there were still so many questions!

They hadn’t figured out why Harry was famous (he had been before he had killed someone!). And he seemed to hate it, but they had no idea why. Harry had gotten both the cloak and the map which they were currently making, James thought it was absolutely amusing, since they now knew that in the future it would work perfectly… The biggest question for James was Harry’s unique scar all over his face. He had said that he wasn’t like Moony and to be honest, it didn’t look like that. But he had never seen a lightning bolt scar over someone’s face… no actually never. So… what was the secret behind that? They knew that Harry had an offer to work as an Auror (probably because he had killed that bad man), but he didn’t want to become one. He also had an offer to work at Hogwarts as a DADA professor.

After some more discussions, Sirius and Remus decided to get some breakfast or look if Mrs. Weasley was already awake. James, on the other hand, grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and snuck to Harry’s room.

He spied into the room, his son was occupying with that Slytherin and Remus’ son. What he saw made him smile broadly. Harry slept in his bed, a white teddy bear in his arms and Malfoy was spooning him, holding him as close as possible. There was a small content smile on both faces and while James decided to slip into the room, his Invisibility Cloak on, the Slytherin let go a quiet, happy sigh and pulled Harry even closer, which made him wake up.

Harry yawned and turned around in the other man’s arms and smiled at him. He tucked a few strains of hair behind Malfoy’s ear and started playing with some other strains.

“Stop it” Malfoy whispered and placed his head a little further away.

Harry grinned and grabbed a few strains of hair again. “Harry” the blond wizard growled. He opened one eye and shook his head, so the strains fell out of his hands.

“Yes, Draco?” his son asked smiling.

Without saying anything, he pulled him into a close hug and kissed him slowly. Harry threw his arms around the other’s neck. James smiled and shook his head. It had taken them so long to accept their feelings. And it had taken them almost two months to finally have a relationship, even if it was a secret one. Everyone in the entire household already knew something about what was going on between the two of them.

The Slytherin propped himself up on his elbow looked down at Harry, whose gaze could only be described as completely love struck. Malfoy ran his hand through his hair and leaned down for another kiss.

Frankly, the blond wizard also looked completely love struck. Harry snuggled into the Slytherin’s hug and sighed contently as well.

“Je t’ai…” Malfoy wanted to say something, but stopped himself, eyes wide and surprised. When Harry looked up, he had his expression under control again. “I think we should do something about your hair.”

“What? No! Nothing ever works” Harry chuckled and cupped his cheek. Malfoy put his hand on Harry’s hand and leaned down for another kiss.

“Just trust me, calinours. I have a lot of experience with hair.”

“ _Your_ hair, not mine.”

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. “Experience is experience. Be honest: How many times did you try and style your hair?”

Harry frowned at him and shook his head. “I do try with my hair!”

“You wouldn’t even need both hands, right? If you counted it?” Malfoy asked grinning and Harry sighed and shook his head.

The Slytherin leaned over him and kissed his neck softly. Harry closed his eyes and smiled. “That’s what I love about you, calinours” the man whispered. 

Harry blushed and tried to turn away, but since Malfoy was lying almost on top of him, he couldn’t really get out. The Slytherin played with his hair until he looked up again. He intertwined his hand with Malfoy’s and grinned.

“Tell me, Draco, what am I supposed to tell the others, when I’m going down there with hair that looks like someone _cared_ about it. Because as you so nicely put it, I don’t style it. I get up, dress and I’m ready to go.”

Malfoy grinned and gave Harry a small kiss on his cheek. “That’s also something we need to work on. Your style is abysmal.”

Harry glared at him and seemed to think about something to say to that. James had to admit that what he had seen his son wear so far was okay, but it looked a little used.

“I think you might have forgotten this, but I didn’t really have time to go clothes shopping while I was being hunted by Voldemort” Harry grinned and James almost jumped up. Finally! A name!

Suddenly, James felt weak. It hit him right in his stomach. Voldemort? As in… Lord Voldemort? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?! In their timeline, they were fighting a war against said wizard… How long was this war going on? The Battle of Hogwarts had been a few months back and Harry had defeated him then. So… a twenty-five year long war.

He walked outside the room, trying to find his friends and tell them what information he had just received.

*

They sat outside on a snow repelling blanket, staring into the white landscape. Suddenly, everything seemed so unnecessary. If they would die fighting Voldemort and only twenty five years later someone would finally defeat him, then what was their purpose?

To die?

To give life to the one who would in the end destroy Voldemort?

They were all quiet, lost in their own thoughts, until Harry walked out and sat down in front of them. When James looked up he noticed how his hair was definitely a little smoother, though not that obvious.

“Molly wants me to tell you that breakfast is ready, but she thinks I need to talk to you. So, how can I help you?” When no one answered immediately, Harry frowned and turned to look at James. “What’s going on?”

James cleared his throat before answering. “We found the real name of your enemy. It’s Voldemort, isn’t it?”

Harry’s eyes grew wide and he looked down, biting his lower lip. “Yes” he answered quietly. “I didn’t want you to find out, since you have probably fought him as well.”

“Well, you’re damn right!” Sirius shouted and punched the snow. “Now we know that nothing we do will keep him away and kill him! In fact, we know that this war is going to rage on for freaking _twenty five_ years! And by the end of it, we’re all dead! How can you expect us to go back now?!”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t want to tell you everything.” He sighed. James was sure that someday he probably had to tell them everything. But that day seemingly wasn’t today. “Just know that the war ended before my second birthday and that it was over for quite some time, before it restarted. So, you shouldn’t give up, but go back and fight.”

“And die” Sirius added, a dark expression on his face. Harry rubbed his temples.

“Yes.”

James frowned. That wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. Before he could say anything, Harry apparently decided to speak up again.

“There’s nothing else to say about that. Yes, you have to die. Yes, it’s horrible and the worst thing that has ever happened. But it’s necessary. Your deaths define everybody else’s fates.”

They were quiet. James would have loved to ask Harry about that last sentence but he was sure he wouldn’t get an answer. Remus apparently wanted to start talking as well.

“Can’t we just know what exactly happens, so we can stay alive?!” Remus asked and looked to the door. James knew that he was talking about his son. He wanted to stay alive for him. 

Harry followed his gaze and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but that’s not how it works. Now, let’s go inside and eat breakfast. They’re probably already wondering what’s going on out here.”

He stood up and walked inside. James sighed and fell backwards into the snow. He stared at the clouded sky. It was about to start snowing again. But he couldn't think about that for long. He should feel blessed that he got to see his son as an adult, since he died quite a while back.

However, he would give anything to help Remus survive and raise his son. Right now, the story seemed to be repeating. Well, except for the war and that little Teddy wasn’t being raised by his relatives, but his godfather.


	64. Night Time is the hardest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is awake at night, because Teddy can't sleep. Turns out, so is Draco.

Harry sat on the edge on the bathtub, staring into the barely visible mirror. The only thing that could be seen in the dimly lit room was his scar and unruly hair. He had forgotten how long he had been sitting there, but judging on the numb feeling in his arse, he must have been there for quite a while. Sadly, he had no strength left to actually get up, so he kept sitting there, hurting quietly. Suddenly, the door opened and Draco walked in, frowning at him.

“What are you doing, calinours?” he asked and held out his hand for Harry to take. Harry sighed, accepted the hand and got up.

“Nothing.”

Truth be told, he had been thinking about a life without these scars. Those thoughts were dangerous, especially with his father and friends around. They could convince him to tell them how to undo this and if they caught him while he was weak, he would do exactly that.

Draco led him to their room, where Teddy was once again sleeping. It was way too early to be awake and Harry knew that Draco had felt him get out of bed and was waiting for him to return. Since he didn’t, he came looking for him. If he wanted to be even more honest, he would have probably thought about how that was something he loved about Draco; that he paid attention and was always there when he needed someone. However, Harry wasn’t really ready to face the truth, so he let Draco pull him into a tight hug.

“We both know you weren’t doing nothing, Harry” he whispered and held him close. Harry smiled and hugged him back, just as tightly.

He was thankful that the Slytherin didn’t say anything else, but once they stopped hugging, Draco pushed him onto a chair. Before Harry could say anything, the other man had walked over to his trunk and took out some things he probably used for his hair.

“Draco, we’ve been over this, nothing works with my hair!” Harry ran his fingers through his hair and rolled his eyes.

The Slytherin laughed and when he stood next to him, he gave him a soft kiss. He kneeled in front of him and cupped his cheeks, which effectively shut him up. Well the kiss already did that, but this stopped him from wanting to argue. Harry wet his lips and looked at the floor, smiling slightly.

Without saying another word, Draco chuckled softly and ran his own hand through Harry’s hair, which made Harry shiver. He got another kiss, before Draco stood up and started massaging his scalp. The massage didn’t stay there, as the Slytherin moved to his shoulders and neck, caressing every inch with his fingers and soft kisses.

Harry had his eyes closed and let everything happen, sometimes humming approvingly or inhaling sharply, when Draco reached a painful area. The blond wizard then started to work through Harry’s hair. Carefully massaging some product into them and placing a warm towel over them.

As soon as he had nothing to do with Harry’s hair, he went back to caressing his shoulder and neck. Suddenly, he hugged him from the back and his arms were around Harry’s waist, his chin on his shoulder and he kissed the soft skin under his ear.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly and Harry leaned back into the strong person behind him.

“Better” he smiled and turned his head slightly.

“Very good” Draco whispered against Harry’s skin and kissed it softly. He shuddered a little. “But I will not stop until I hear you say that you’re feeling good or very good.”

Harry smiled lightly and nodded, leaning his head against the Slytherin’s, who let his hands roam over Harry’s pajama. After a while, Draco took away the warm towel and started to work with other products, until he could actually use a hair brush and smooth his hair. Harry was surprised to say the least. He couldn’t remember when he had last used a hair brush. Normally, he could just about run through it with his hands.

The highlight of all of this, however, was Draco being the one who worked with his hair. It felt so good and made Harry actually feel loved, something with which he had been fighting with this morning as well.

“Even better than yesterday” Draco smiled and kissed the top of Harry’s head and his temples. “Wouldn’t you say so?”

Harry chuckled. “I can’t see anything, Draco. I don’t know. You could have done anything.”

“Yes, because that’s what I’d do to you, calinours” he laughed softly and conjured two mirrors, showing him what he had done. It looked really good; his hair was slightly curled but the top was placed back probably with the help of a little hair gel (or magic), but still wavy and it made him look rather good and grown-up, he concluded.

When he raised his eyes to look at Draco, he saw him being rather fascinated. Smiling, he stood up and pulled the Slytherin into a hug. “I have a feeling you like this look much more than I do” he whispered and drew back slightly to kiss him, without giving him time to answer.

“You have no idea” the Slytherin laughed a little, once they had separated again. Then, very, very quietly he added. “Je t’aime.”

Just that moment, Teddy stirred once again and whimpered. Harry sighed, let go of Draco and quickly changed Teddy’s diaper, hoping that this was actually what his godson had wanted. He was apparently right, as he turned around again and kept sleeping.

When he turned to face the Slytherin again, he had just pulled his pajama top over his head, as he had gotten some of his hair products on it and Harry held his breath. Even in this light, only one candle shining, the scars over the Slytherins chest were red. It made his heart ache. He had seen them before, but right now they seemed to glow.

“Draco, I’m so sorry!” Harry looked at the scars that stretched over his stomach and chest and were basically burning red.

“Don’t worry, calinours. If anybody notices, I just tell them that we had a little rough sex.” Draco winked and Harry felt himself turning red. Even his ears were burning.

“I do not approve and this is not a joke, Draco! I really am sorry!”

The Slytherin chuckled, sat on the chair Harry had vacated and pulled him into his lap. “Let me tell you a secret, calinours. I really don’t mind those scars. It just means that I’m yours.”

Harry frowned, but traced one scar carefully, as if it was still an open wound. “What do you mean?”

“You marked me as yours.” Draco pointed to his scars and Harry bit his lips. It was a little cute that Draco thought of his scars that way, but… Harry stared at the ground. The Slytherin seemed to realize that something didn’t seem right.

“Harry?” He stroked Harry’s cheek, while the other man tried to think about what the Slytherin had said. They sat there in silence, until Draco spoke up again. “Harry, love, what’s wrong?”

Inhaling deeply, Harry sighed quietly. “I don’t want to be marked or owned by my scars” he said quietly, which was almost a whisper.

Draco smiled at him, pushed his hair up and kissed the very beginning of his lightning bolt scar. Slowly, he made his way over Harry’s face and kissed every inch that was covered by it. Harry was uncharacteristically quiet and let everything happen, though his eyelids had closed a while in.

“I can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but Harry: Our scars only made us who we are, they don’t define us. I had to learn that the hard way, so did you.” He took Harry’s hand again and made him touch the scars he had made. “I choose to accept that these scars marked me to be yours.” He smiled a little sheepishly. “This thought helped me through my month in Azkaban. Just knowing that… I… I could be yours.”

Harry blinked his tears away and nodded. "You wanted to be mine, while you were in Azkaban?"

After Draco nodded once again rather sheepishly, he leaned in and kissed him deeply and passionately. His hand followed a scar over his chest to his stomach, where he stopped and moved back up to put his arm around the Slytherin’s neck.

“You are mine, Draco Malfoy” he whispered quietly and smiled, when he felt Draco trembling a little.

Draco suddenly tightened his grip around Harry and stood up. Harry let out a surprise yelp and held onto him. By that time they had reached the bed, he started giggling since the surprise had passed and when Draco let him down and climbed into bed next to him, he smiled at the blond wizard. This time he was even aware that he looked probably extremely love struck.

“I figured it would be faster than asking if you could please get off me.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten off of you” Harry admitted and snuggled into Draco who laid on his back, with one arm outstretched as an invite for Harry.

He laughed quietly and gave Harry a kiss on his temple. “See? Faster than that.”

“You could have warned me, though.”

“And miss your surprised face? I don’t think so” the Slytherin chuckled and Harry rolled his eyes. He tried to climb on top Draco, but he imprisoned him in his hug and didn’t let go.

Harry struggled against him for some time, before just accepting his situation and smiling at the other man. He closed his eyes, enjoyed having Draco so close and when he laid his head on the Slytherin’s chest he could hear his heartbeat, steadily moving and almost entrancing him. There was also the fact the Draco was moving his hand over Harry’s back that made him a little tired.

“Are you going to fall asleep on me again, calinours?” Draco asked quietly and got Harry out of his half asleep mind.

He yawned and chuckled. “Yes. Literally this time. But you had to go and wake me up again.”

“Oh, you are so welcome. I don’t want to be the only one awake at this ungodly hour” Draco laughed quietly.

Harry tried his hardest to turn and look at the clock, but Draco’s tight hug kept him from turning. The Slytherin grinned at him, knowing exactly what he did, but pretending not to know anything.

“Is there a problem, calinours?” he asked innocently.

“No” Harry answered and raised his eyebrows. “Just some idiot trying his hardest to keep me retained.”

Draco raised his eyebrow and challenged his look. “Idiot? I’ll show you an idiot!” With that he rolled them over, so he was on top of Harry and started tickling him again. Harry yelped and laughed, actually caught one of Draco’s hands, but he couldn’t fight him long. The Slytherin freed his hand again and tickled him even more.

Harry was trying his best to fight him, but Draco somehow seemed to know exactly where to touch him and make him stop fighting. Still, Harry managed to almost overpower Draco by crawling away. It didn’t work, as the Slytherin pulled him back into his clutches. Since the tickling stopped, the blond wizard pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss.

“So, calinours. Am I still an idiot?”

Harry looked at Draco and smiled. He felt safe and warm and loved. And all of that, just because of one person. And the way Draco looked at him was the most head spinning look he had ever received. What would happen if he’d say Yes? He couldn’t stop himself, as he wanted to know it more than not.

“Of course, you are, Draco” he grinned and wanted to add something, when he was being tickled again. This time a little longer and he didn’t have to strength to fight back, so he let it happen and laughed, while still trying a little bit to get out of Draco’s clutches.

The Slytherin didn’t even have to ask a question, he only raised his eyebrow, looking at Harry. Still chuckling, Harry held up his hands in surrender.

“I’m sorry I called you an idiot” he grinned. “On the other hand, you call me an idiot almost every day.”

Draco kissed him softly, pulled away for a second and placed another kiss on Harry’s lips. Then another and one more. Harry threw his arms around Draco’s neck and smiled at him. The Slytherin chuckled. “I haven’t heard you complaining about that.”

Harry licked his lips and rolled his eyes. “Stop talking and kiss me again already.”

His whole world belonged to Draco and the moment, he came closer and hovered over his lips, he felt his heart skip a beat. This man was going to be the death of him… well, technically he had already died for him. Shaking his head slightly, he concentrated on what was happening right now. There was a slight smirk on the Slytherin’s face and Harry finally gave in and kissed Draco passionately.

The blond wizard let his hand roam over Harry’s body, while Harry slightly massaged the Slytherin’s neck. Even though he was still wearing his pajama, every touch of the other man made him shiver and he pulled the Slytherin even closer.

Panting heavily, both men let go and Draco kissed Harry’s temples, whispering sweet nothings. Before anyone could say or do anything, Teddy started crying again. Draco got up and brought Harry’s godson to them. Harry had sat up as well and when the blond wizard placed the toddler on Harry’s lap, he was silent for just a second.

He rocked the child, but nothing seemed to calm him down, until Draco cast his Patronus and he followed the Dragon (which was a little more small scale than when he was outside) and calmed down until he fell asleep again.

This had been going on for nearly all night. Neither of the two men had slept longer than half an hour at the time until Teddy woke up again and started crying or whimpering or just about anything.

“What is sleep anyway?” Harry asked and leaned at Draco’s chest, placing his head on the Slytherin’s shoulder.

“No idea, calinours” Draco kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly. “I don’t think you’ll find it for another three years or something.” At Harry’s shocked expression, he started laughing quietly.

Harry turned slightly and hid his face in the crook of the other man’s neck. _I love you_ , he thought, but decided not to say anything. It was a little too early for something like that.

There was, however, something else that was on Harry’s mind. And he wanted, no he needed to address this. “Hey Draco… do you… do you think I’m weak?”

The Slytherin turned to face him, frowning. “Why would you ask that?”

“Because… because every time I’m with you I feel as if I’m the weak one and that maybe you don’t want to…”

“Stop it, Harry” Draco said quietly and ran his hand through Harry’s hair. “Stop thinking that. You are one of the strongest people I’ve met so far. The fact that you can be weak around me shows me how much you trust me and I will not take advantage of this. If you haven’t noticed, calinours, I’m weak around you too.”

Harry nodded slightly. “But not like I am… I mean I’m…”

“Harry, I told you to stop.” Draco placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “It’s what you need right now, calinours. Once you don’t need someone to be your own personal hero, you can be strong on your own. I will always be your own personal hero, but some day we can fight together.”

This little speech made Harry chuckle. “You’re such an idiot, Draco.”

“I’m what, sorry?” Draco whispered and trailed his hands down to Harry’s waist. He jumped a little and frowned at Draco.

“You are an amazing human being” Harry said deadpanned.

“Oh, thank you! How nice of you, dear.”

“Yes, definitely not a forced complement” Harry commented dryly and Draco winked.

Harry’s death glare didn’t seem to diminish the Slytherin’s good mood. However, Teddy starting to cry made both get up and Draco grabbed his pajama top and they headed down to the living room, where Teddy could play or sleep or eat if he wanted to. Maybe they could get some sleep down there, though Harry actively doubted it.


	65. What a Time to be alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once Harry nad Draco stay in the living room, Teddy falls asleep and they discuss their plans for New Year.

“Do you have any plans for New Year’s Eve?”

Harry yawned and turned to face Draco. His head was resting on the Slytherin’s lap and they were lying on the couch in the living room after a sleepless night with a crying Teddy. Well, technically it was still night, as the sun hadn’t even started to show the very first glint of light. Next to them, Teddy was calmly sleeping in his crib and the fire cracked, which made Harry feel just at home. He shrugged his shoulders and grinned. “I was just about to say ‘not getting killed’, but that seems a little unlikely as of lately.”

Draco chuckled and ran his hands through Harry’s hair. He shuddered a little at first, but relaxed rather quickly and closed his eyes. His hair was still smooth with the help of Draco’s products earlier this morning, but it did have its own mind and was almost back to normal. However, if there was anything Harry did not want to miss, it was the feeling of having Draco so close to him. Yes, he liked toying with him and making him weak, but Harry couldn’t really mind, he was head over heels for the Slytherin.

“So, I guess, that’s a No?” Draco asked and his hand wandered down Harry’s neck to his shoulders, where he massaged him softly.

Harry smiled. “Yes, that’s a No. I have nothing planned for tomorrow.” He opened his eyes skeptically. “Do you?”

Draco shrugged his shoulders, but the grin on his face bespoke his nonchalant body language. “I do actually. And I was wondering if you’d like to go out on a date with me.”

“Hold on” Harry sat up and ignored Draco’s attempts to make him lie back down on his lap. “Like a real date?”

The Slytherin chuckled again. “Yes, calinours. An actual date.” He smirked and Harry had trouble hiding his excitement. He would have loved to fall around the other man’s neck and kiss the living daylight out of him. Maybe he would do that later… “Why do you ask? Do you think I just like to toy with people’s emotions and then let them fall and ignore them?”

Harry grinned and lay back down. “That’s what I thought you Slytherin’s would do.”

“Well, I don’t” Draco leaned over him and gave him a quick kiss. His hand trailed back up to his hair and he started playing with it again. Harry closed his eyes and let his feelings take over. He couldn’t get enough of Draco’s distinct smell, it made him feel comfortable and safe. The Slytherin had now placed a hand on Harry’s chest, drawing small circles over his pajamas, while the other was still playing with his hair.

When he opened his eyes, Draco smiled at him and his eyes were soft and calm. It was as if the whirlwind Harry had seen so many times had finally decided to calm down and bring some breathing space. He put his arm around the Slytherin’s neck and felt Draco shiver a little bit.

“I know this sounds very tacky, but I need to tell you something” Draco said quietly. Harry nodded and smiled. “I really can’t think about a life without you. You’re all that matters to me.”

Harry’s fingers moved around Draco’s neck to his cheek, so that his thumb was lying in front of his ear, but the rest was behind it. The Slytherin leaned into the touch and Harry bent one leg to lie a little more comfortable, leaning it against the backrest.

“You’re right, Draco. It’s incredibly tacky” he chuckled, but sat up and drew him into a deep kiss, which he only stopped, once they were both panting for air. He hid his face in the crook of Draco’s neck and the Slytherin pulled him onto his lap.

He put his arms around Harry and pulled him even closer. “Well, what can I say? You bring out the worst side of me.”

Harry laughed and shook his head, once he withdrew it from Draco. “That’s true, though I doubt this side is the worst side of you.” He ran his hands alongside his face and kissed him gently. “I think this side is the one you try very hard to ignore or hide.”

“Which is my worst side, Harry Potter.”

He only shook his head. “It’s not, Draco Malfoy. I happen to lo- like this side of you.”

Draco beamed and let the bones-crushing hug go. He did not let go of Harry though, keeping his hands prisoners. Harry couldn’t have minded less.

“You happen to what?” he asked, which a sparkle inside his eyes. Harry blushed and rolled his eyes, trying to hide the blush behind annoyance. It did not work.

“I _like_ this soft side of you. It’s like a teddy bear.”

Draco narrowed his eyes. “I’m no teddy bear. And I’m no sunshine; you need to come up with something else, mon enclume.”

Harry frowned at him. “How come you have new names for me every new month? What does that even mean?”

“It’s French…”

“Wouldn’t have guessed that” Harry interrupted him sarcastically, which earned him a short amount of tickling after Draco cast a silencing charm. He cancelled it again, once he stopped tickling the man on his lap.

He started talking, while Harry was still chuckling and threw his arms around his neck. “As I said, _Potter_ , it’s French and it means anvil…”

He couldn’t say anything more, because Harry interrupted him once again. “Wait, Draco, you’re calling me teddy bear and anvil? What’s next? Sauerkraut?”

Laughing, Draco gave him another kiss on his cheek. “There’s actually a French name for that: choucroute. I mean, it sounds cute and if you want to I could call you…”

“Definitely not!” Harry rolled his eyes. “Okay, so what does it mean, when you call someone your anvil?”

“It means that said person means a lot to you. And you do mean a lot to me, so I’ll call you _enclume_ , if you like it or not.”

Harry frowned. “I think I need to find an embarrassing nickname for you as well. Sunshine’s not even good enough.”

Draco grinned and hovered once again close to his lips, when someone at the door cleared their throat. Both men jumped and looked to the woman at the entrance.

Hermione stood there, smiling at the two of them and shook her head softly. “I cannot believe how blind both of you are. I have been standing here for the longest time and neither of you has even realized someone was watching you. What are you even doing out of bed? It’s not even six o’clock yet.”

“Teddy wouldn’t sleep” Harry answered simply, while Draco narrowed his eyes.

“I have some questions, Hermione” he started. “First of all, why are _you_ out of bed? Secondly, why did you spy on us and how long have you been standing there? Why did you wait so long to say something and… don’t you have a boyfriend of your own waiting for you?”

Harry chuckled quietly, snuggled closer to Draco and nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“Well, Draco” Hermione started. Harry opened one eye, which he focused on his best friend. “I wanted a glass of milk, so I’m out of bed. I did not mean to spy on you, but you weren’t exactly quiet and to be honest, once I started watching, I couldn’t stop. You both just seem to be perfect for each other, which every observer can see. And I didn’t want to say something, because you were having a moment.”

“Yet you still decided to break said moment, how very thoughtful of you” Draco said and Harry covered the Slytherin’s mouth with his hand.

He leaned away from Draco’s body and smiled at Hermione. “Thank you for saying something. We won’t be disturbing you anymore, we’ll be quiet.”

His best friend grinned and after a little hesitation, decided to tell them something or rather, tell Harry something. “Not taking his voice this time?” she smirked.

He chuckled and hid his face back in the crook of Draco’s neck once again. Hermione walked to the kitchen and once she had something to drink, she went back up the stairs, after she winked at the two of them.

“She’s taking this rather easy” Draco said pondering. Harry kissed his neck intensively, which made the Slytherin almost jump.

After they made out a little more, they heard some footsteps coming down the stairs and broke away, Harry checking up on Teddy and Draco lying down on the couch, closing his eyes. Molly walked into the room and was surprised to find them both up and more or less running (Draco pretending to be asleep).

“Morning, Harry. Why are you already awake and how’s Draco?”

Harry smiled at her. “Teddy wasn’t sleeping all night, so we got up and brought him down here, playing and feeding him something to eat. He fell asleep about two hours ago. I think Draco’s fine.”

Molly laughed quietly. “Yes, children are not healthy for a good night’s sleep. As for Draco, I think it might have been a little bit too much for him.” She looked at Draco, who by the looks of it actually did fall asleep. Harry smiled at him and when he looked at… _his mother_ , she winked at him and walked into the kitchen.

He softly tucked a strain of blond hair behind the Slytherin’s ear and put a blanket over him. He was laying on his chest and one hand was hanging down. It probably was too much for him and pretending to be asleep was also too much for his brain. Frankly, Harry had to admit that it was the cutest thing ever.

They prepared breakfast and the next people to arrive were his father and friends. Harry wasn’t sure if he should ignore them or talk to them. They had found out about Voldemort yesterday. He knew that the longer they stayed here, the more they’d find out. And once they knew everything… how would it change the future? They clearly did not want to die and frankly, if he was in their situation, he would probably react the same.

The marauders sat down at the table and started eating breakfast. Harry tried to distract himself, but Molly made him sit down next to Remus and start eating. The time travelers apparently were not in a talking mood, as they finished quickly and were back hiding in their room.

In the living room, Teddy stirred and Harry jumped over there to get him, before he could start crying and woke up Draco, who was sleeping happily, with the smallest of smiles on his face. Harry kissed his temples, which made the Slytherin purr quietly.

“You really are head over heels” a voice sounded and when he looked up, he saw Hermione grinning at him. He blushed a little and quickly changed Teddy’s diaper.

“I actually can’t believe it myself sometimes” Harry admitted and they walked to the kitchen, where Molly was working on something for tonight’s dessert. Harry sat Teddy down and started feeding him. Teddy was apparently still a little tired, but he woke up quickly enough. Harry and Hermione talked about everything that came to mind, though they were mostly talking about the upcoming full moon, where Arthur had decided to confine Remus to the stable outside and they had to take the mandrake leaf to start their transformations.

Since no one else was awake, they decided to go on a walk together with Teddy, and Molly gave them an advice where they might find a frozen lake for some ice-skating. So, they went and actually found it.

Hermione conjured some skates, Harry changed the buggy into a sledge and placed Teddy into the little baby seat on top. They spent quite some time on the lake, until they felt a little chilly and walked back rather quickly.

Inside the Burrow, Draco had apparently just woken up and sat at the kitchen table, eating and discussing something political with Charlie and George. Even Ginny threw in some comments. Arthur and Percy were back at the Ministry; Molly told them that they had promised to be back by dinner.

As soon as Harry walked in with Teddy on his arms and the toddler saw his second favorite (or actual favorite) person, he made motions towards Draco. Harry grinned and sat down next to the Slytherin.

“Hi Draco, I think someone wants to be with you.”

Draco turned around, grinning. “Is that so?” Just then the toddler attacked him and Harry almost let him fall onto the floor, as he wanted to be with Draco right this second. The Slytherin caught him quickly and placed him on his lap.

Teddy laughed loudly and chewed on his fingers. Draco grinned at Harry. “Guess what, calinours: Teddy chose me, so I’m the Chosen One now.”

Everyone around the table and who had heard him started laughing. Teddy as well, though Harry doubted he understood why people were laughing.

“Oh, please, be my guest, Draco. I don’t want to be the Chosen One anyway” Harry grinned and stroke Teddy’s now slightly blond bluish hair.

“Hey Draco, don’t you have another name when you say ‘Chosen One’?” Ginny asked, her eyes sparkling.

Harry grinned. “Yes, from now on, I will call _you_ the Chosen Idiot. Or rather Teddy’s Chosen Idiot.”

People laughed and Harry winked at Draco, while he pretended to be playing with Teddy. He leaned in closer and played with Teddy’s hands. Draco leaned in closer as well, but it probably looked like they were both playing with Harry’s godson.

In reality, Draco was whispering something to Harry. “You still are _my_ Chosen Idiot. I’d fight anyone for this.”

Harry grinned at Draco and gave Teddy his plush toy. He was definitely not going do or say more. Not while people were watching them that closely. Their hands brushed and Harry smiled at Teddy, though that smile was actually meant for the blond wizard holding his godson.


	66. All the Time in the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco takes Harry on their fist date on New Year's Eve.

Draco was just about to drag Harry outside to apparate, when Harry held him back. “Draco, you’re not allowed to go anywhere, remember?”

The Slytherin rolled his eyes. “Actually I am. I asked the Minister and he’s giving me a free pass, as long as I stay by your side. And to be honest, I’m not going to let you walk away from me. So, are you ready to go on our first date?”

Harry smiled and rolled his eyes. “Yes, I am. One question though…”

“Yes, it’s going to take the whole day. If that was your question.”

Laughing, Harry followed Draco outside. “You really make the stakes high for any future date, you do realize that?”

The Slytherin winked at him. “It’s all just to make anybody else feel inferior on the first date.”

“What makes you think, I’d go on a first date with someone else?” Harry frowned. He did not like what this statement referred to. Draco shrugged his shoulders and walked outside of the Burrow’s property.

Harry was definitely not letting him get away with something like this. He followed Draco carefully, but before he could ask him for a side-along apparition, Harry crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Draco with his eyebrow raised.

The blond wizard seemed to realize that the day had started a little off beat and turned to face him quite quickly. “Okay, listen, Harry. I know whatever we have is very special, but I’m not even sure we can live through the next year. My mother hasn’t written so I’m sure the Greengrasses aren’t happy with their situation.”

Harry knew Draco wanted to keep talking, but he needed to know something. “Well, what happens if they decide they don’t want to break off the marriage?”

“I’ll have to marry Astoria. The contract is very strict about it. There’s no way around it.”

“Then what are we doing here, Draco?” Harry felt suddenly a little cheated. He was feeling so happy, but if they decided that Draco was not allowed to follow his heart… everything they had was suddenly worth absolutely nothing.

Draco walked closer, straightened the cap on Harry’s head and let his hands rest on Harry’s cheeks. “We’re hopeful. Isn’t that worth at least something?”

Harry bit his lower lip and lowered his gaze. Draco sighed and pulled Harry into a hug. “Harry, I know it’s not what you would have liked to hear, but I really want to be honest with you. I’m not sure what my future holds for me, so I want to enjoy my present. With you.”

He really didn’t want to feel safe and loved again. This safety and love could be taken away any second. Draco was everything to him. The Greengrass family wouldn’t just destroy Draco’s life but his as well.

“Are you okay, calinours?” Draco asked quietly and Harry pressed himself closer to the Slytherin.

“Give me a few more minutes, and then I’ll be fine.” He didn’t want to be fine. He wanted to scream, shout and tell him that he lied. He wanted to forbid him from ever talking to someone in the Greengrass family ever again. He couldn’t do that.

Maybe that was the reason why this date was going to take the whole day. Draco was as scared as he was. And maybe he wanted to have some amazing memories just in case something went wrong.

Harry sighed and looked up at Draco, who carefully watched him. “Whatever happens, Draco, I’ll always be there for you.”

The Slytherin smiled. “The same goes for you, calinours. And I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing’s going to happen to us.”

They spent a few minutes in a close and clearly needed hug. Then Draco brought him to a restaurant with enchanted snowy landscapes for lunch. In the afternoon they went ice-skating, bowling and wine tasting. Harry almost won in bowling, since Draco needed some time figuring out how the game worked. In the end, he won, but Harry was sure he only managed that with magic, as suddenly all the pins fell down every single time. Still, he wasn’t going to call him out on that. He had looked so happy and proud over winning a Muggle game.

When dinner time arrived, Draco led him to a workshop, where they were actually cooking their own dinner. They made mushroom risotto and a banana cake as dessert. Harry couldn’t remember when he last had so much fun. He also had fun at the expense of Draco, since he had a lot of problems working with Muggle appliances. Harry quickly took over and whenever their teacher wasn’t looking or looked at any of the other three couples, he quietly taught him how to work any of those things. In the end, they had their own dining area and ate their own food, which wasn’t even that bad.

Once they were done with dinner, Draco grabbed Harry’s hand and led him to the Thames. There were a lot of boats around and the side of the river had been decorated with lanterns and since there were no clouds in the sky, the moon shone down on them.

“What is that, Draco?” Harry asked. He felt like the Slytherin was really going all out for this date.

Draco smiled and kissed his hand. “We’re doing a moonlit boat ride.”

They climbed into a boat, which was big enough for another pair, but it was actually filled with some people who could steer and keep everything under control. They silently floated over the water, enjoying the silence and their closeness. Harry snuggled up to Draco and closed his eyes. He felt Draco’s arm around his waist and smiled happily. This was how he wanted to remain. Just like this, forever.

“I need to show you something, Harry” Draco said calmly and Harry opened his eyes and looked at him. “Well it’s more of a feeling, so you can keep your eyes closed” he chuckled and kissed the top of his head.

Harry rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. Suddenly, he felt warmth rushing around him and Draco’s distinct smell of chocolate, pine trees and rose bushes surrounded him. He felt secure and loved. So loved.

When he opened his eyes to look at Draco, the Slytherin smiled lovingly. “It’s a warming charm. If you put it around someone you like, it feels like love, doesn’t it?”

Nodding, Harry snuggled closer to the Slytherin and smiled happily. He could stay in this warming charm bubble for all eternity. However, something suddenly came to mind.

“Draco, those two times I put a warming charm around you… did you…”

“That’s how I found out about it, calinours” the Slytherin smiled and pulled him even closer to himself. “Je t’aime” he whispered softly into Harry's ear. “You know, I think I need to tell you something else” Draco started and intertwined their hands again. Harry looked up, a little scared that there was something else he didn’t want to hear.

“I knew you had a crush on me for a while actually. Before you told me at my aunt’s funeral.”

Harry shook his head. “That’s impossible. I was always careful about what I was saying around you.”

Draco smiled and kissed his temple. He traced Harry’s knuckled with his fingers and kissed his hand again. Harry smiled and placed his head under Draco’s chin. He could once again feel the vibration when he spoke, though not as he wanted it as the winter jacket was in his way. However, a little was better than nothing.

“Well, maybe” Draco started and smiled. “Maybe there was one time when you completely forgot what you were saying.”

“I don’t forget, I think I could cite all our discussions…”

“Except for one” Draco interrupted him. “You were drunk.”

Harry frowned, looking over the dark water with the reflection of the almost full moon. He was drunk? When and why would he ever be…

It dawned on him and he shot up. “Oh no! The party that Dean and Seamus threw. I said something stupid then, didn’t I? But I did ask you and you said that I didn’t do or say anything stupid!”

Draco smiled and kissed his forehead. “That might be because I don’t think you telling me that I smell like _a walk in a park_ is stupid. I happen to know that your Amortentia smells like that.”

Harry hid his face in his hands. Oh that was embarrassing. He should have never gone to that party and also not getting drunk. When he raised his head, he saw the most beautiful and loving eyes, he had ever seen.

“How do you even know what my Amortentia smells like? I brewed it with Mil… oh.”

Draco grinned and pulled him closer to himself. “Yes, Millicent might have told me.”

Once again, Harry hid his face, though this time in Draco’s crook of his neck. He felt Draco chuckle and smiled weakly. He had it bad for this man. If they couldn’t have a happy ending because of some pureblood law, he was definitely going to lose it.

“And you hid this information the entire time?” Harry asked quietly after a few minutes.

“Well, how do you think I should have mentioned to you that you told me this secret? You had problems telling me you were gay when we talked after our Christmas shopping. I don’t think you were really ready to talk about your Amortentia and it smelling like me” Draco explained and his thumb stroked his cheek softly.

Harry sighed and nuzzled deeper into Draco’s neck. He was right. Of course, he was. He’d had a crush on him, but he wasn’t ready to tell him the truth.

Just then, the boat stopped and Draco pulled him to his feet. They climbed out of it and strolled towards a huge building. There was loud music playing and some fancy cars were parked in front of it. The building had a glass roof and all kinds of lights shone through it into the night sky.

“This is our last stop before midnight” Draco informed Harry. “It’s a ball.”

Harry stopped immediately. “You do know I can’t dance, right?”

“You danced in our forth year, calinours” Draco smiled at him. “Don’t worry, it’s more like a disco than something extremely formal.”

“I’m not even dressed properly” Harry objected and looked at Draco a little accusing.

The Slytherin smirked and presented him with a shrunken down wardrobe. “Do you really think I’d leave you hanging? This time you’re actually going to wear something that fits you. If the Ministry would let me, I’d take you clothes shopping.”

Harry laughed and rolled his eyes. “Thank you, Draco. I appreciate it.”

They entered the party after they changed in the bathroom. Though the decoration and people dancing their lives away was definitely an amazing view, Harry couldn’t keep his eyes off of Draco. He looked extremely sexy in his tailored midnight black three piece suit and flaming red tie (to add some color as he had said, though Harry was sure that a green tie would have added color as well). There was absolutely nothing worth more looking at.

Draco gave him a knee-weakening, dashing smile and held his hand out for him to take and join dancing the old year away. He took it without any hesitation and they melted into the crowd.

When midnight came closer and closer, the people started counting down from ten and walked outside to wait for the firework. Draco put his arms around Harry’s waist, pulled him closer and placed his head on Harry’s shoulder.

“I have literally no idea of when I was that happy” Draco whispered into his ear.

Smiling, Harry leaned back and gave him a small kiss on his cheeks. He placed his hands on the Slytherin’s arms and snuggled into the other man’s hug. “Honestly, neither do I.”

Draco chuckled and Harry relished in the feeling of being happy and so close to his happiness. That moment, the firework started and once Harry calmed down again, he turned around, cupped the Slytherin’s cheeks and drew him into a long and loving kiss.

That was definitely the best ending to this horrible year. Now, he could restart his life with an amazing godson under his wing, an even more amazing relationship and with an actual family. It felt like there was nothing that could bring him down. Right here, right now, he loved his life.

“Calinours, are you okay?” He was brought back from his thoughts and felt Draco kiss his neck softly. Harry shuddered, not only because of Draco’s touch but also the cold winter air that was attacking every inch of naked skin it could find.

He sighed. “I’m in between, Draco. I have never been so happy before, but there’s this constant shadow hovering over us.”

He felt the Slytherin pulling him closer and placing his head on the other man’s shoulder. “I know, and I’m sorry. It’s all my fault” Draco whispered.

Harry shook his head and put his arms around the Slytherin’s neck. “Are you telling me that this should have never happened?”

“No, Harry. What I’m trying to say is that if I was anything else than a pureblood, we could be happy right now without shadows and problems.”

Smiling, Harry let go of Draco and pulled him out of the crowd who was still looking at the fireworks, clearly lost in their own little bubble. They walked down the winter wonderland road and Harry not once let go of Draco’s hand. After a while, the blond wizard put his arm around his shoulders and kissed his temple.

Harry leaned into Draco’s touch. “You’re taking this too serious, Draco. Didn’t you tell me that we should enjoy the present?”

The Slytherin sighed. “Well, you started talking about shadows and I have to say I hate them.”

Before Harry could say or do anything, he was being apparated by Draco and once they landed on a field, he almost fell down. The blond wizard held him close, so he didn’t fall down immediately.

“You are evil, Draco Malfoy!” Harry said but he couldn’t get the grin off his face. Draco kissed his forehead and pulled him into another hug.

“So, what are we doing here?” Harry asked and looked around, as well as it worked, being in a very tight hug with the only man he’ll ever love.

They were standing on a snow covered hill, a little bit away from all the people. There was a tent, which seemed to be magical. Other than that, there was no light (if you ignored the fireworks), but the stars and the moon.

Draco smiled. “I borrowed a magical tent that would keep us warm over night and we can stay here until the sun comes up again. That was my plan.”

Harry hesitated. What was Draco planning exactly? Should he tell him that he had no experience when it came to sex? The Slytherin seemed to realize that Harry wasn’t feeling all too comfortable.

“Harry, don’t worry. I was not planning on _that_. I just thought that maybe you liked to spend another few quiet hours just with me, before we have to go back to reality.” He smiled at Harry, who hid his face in Draco’s winter jacket.

“I do actually” he mumbled into it and Draco grabbed his hand, dragging him into the tent. Warmth surrounded them and Harry didn’t realize how cold he was. Ever the gentleman, Draco helped him out of his jacket and hung it on a chair.

He walked over to the kitchen and came back with treacle tart. Harry’s eyes were big and he didn’t care that Draco was clearly laughing about his reaction. What the Slytherin did warmed his heart. He had bought his favorite dessert and they could now sit there and eat the night away. Technically.

They sat on the floor in front of the entrance for the longest time. Draco leaning at a couch he had placed there for this exact purpose, Harry almost sitting on his lap, leaning his head against his chest, looking outside.

Draco kissed his temple again and put his arms round him. “I’m scared, you know.”

“What about?”

Sighing, Draco grabbed some crumbles on his plate and ate them slowly. “That maybe my life is about to shatter into thousands of pieces and that I can’t get them all back together.”

Harry frowned. Yes, he knew there was a problem, but the Slytherin needed to be more specific. Those pieces could mean anything. “Okay… and now without analogies?”

Draco gave him another kiss, which made Harry close his eyes shortly. “You mean everything to me. What if…” he stopped talking and bit his lower lip. “What if the Greengrass’ family doesn’t accept that I want my heart to decide my future and not this stupid marriage contract?”

Why did he had to fall for someone who was already supposed to marry someone else? It would have definitely been easier to go for… Neville. Or maybe Ron. Harry grimaced, even thinking about that. No, he was sure that Draco was the man for him. It was just a little more complicated with him.

“I don’t know to be honest” Harry answered. “Also if that happens, I’ll write you a thank you card for dragging me into this shit.”

Draco laughed and pulled him into a hug and a soft kiss on his lips. “Oh, you’re welcome.”

“You’re an idiot.”

Harry felt Draco’s hands ghost over his waist and was just about to jump up and run away from being tickled once again, when Draco simply answered his statement. “Not really, I mean, your name is ‘The Chosen Idiot’.”

Laughing, Harry shoved Draco and wanted to get up. “You call me like that! Nobody else does!”

“If they did, it would only happen once.” The Slytherin pulled him back down into a deep kiss. Harry put his arms around the other man’s neck and kissed him intensely. When they had to separate to get some air into their lungs, he was happy to see that the Slytherin needed some more time to get his composure back up.

“Okay… Why would it only happen once?” Harry smirked. He already suspected the answer, but wanted to hear it anyway.

Draco took a deep breath, obviously still a little dazed and trying to focus on what he was saying. “Because I’d go… and find… them and tell them… to stop calling you that.” He shook his head and raised his eyes to look directly into Harry’s. He had the softest smile on his lips, Harry had ever seen.

“ _Tell them_ or make them stop?”

“Probably the latter.”


	67. A Waste of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco meet with Jessie Appleton, however, it doesn't really go as expected.

It was now pretty clear to the rest of the family that there was something going on between Harry and Draco. They had been gone for the entirety of the last day and spent the night somewhere, though Harry refused to tell anyone what happened, the rumors were high – possibly all started by George who had gained back his jokes and sarcastic ways of speaking. The rumors were of course all good natured… though the marauders took them way too serious.

On the second of January, Remus hid himself in the stable, James and Sirius by his side, ready to keep the werewolf locked down should the potion not work – which it hadn’t, but it still helped the people inside the house sleeping at least a little better.

Draco, Harry, Hermione and Ron had all taken their mandrake leaf, hoping they wouldn’t swallow it during the night. Luckily, no one did, which meant that they would be able to start their transformation by the end of the month – or rather, when the next full moon happened.

After full moon, they spent the rest of their holidays fighting with snowmen or snowballs, walking Teddy, trying to make him walk on his own (or with the bunny, Harry had given him) and ice skating on the pond. Draco had even convinced Harry to do some homework and read up on other stuff except Time Turners. Hermione likewise had success convincing Ron to do something for school. Only the marauders remained truthful to their I’m-not-going-to-do-anything-for-school-mood. Even Remus wasn’t in the mood, which might be because whatever they did here, they had to do once again when they traveled back.

Ron finally seemed to realize that something was going on between Harry and Draco, as he found himself in the kitchen one day with Harry, Draco and Teddy, the latter just wanting to eat something, preferably plain bread.

While Harry was feeding him, Draco made coffee and without having to ask Harry how he liked to drink it, he added a little milk and sugar. None of them had really noticed that Ron was around and only once he spoke up did they realize that they weren’t alone.

“How come you know how he takes his coffee?”

Harry looked at the end of the table and widened his eyes. Ron sat there, eating cake from last night. He was looking at Draco, his eyebrow raised and frowning.

Draco shrugged his shoulders. “I have a good memory.”

“He never drinks coffee at Hogwarts” Ron was still frowning and Harry rubbed his forehead.

“Ron, please.” He sighed and gave Teddy some more bread, when he started complaining. Draco poured himself a cup of coffee as well and added some milk, before sitting down across from Harry.

He smiled at Ron. “To be honest, I never said anything about Hogwarts.”

Harry’s best friend was either not willing to believe what happened in front of his eyes, or still completely oblivious. He decided that he porbably should jog his memory a little. “Ron, what do you think happened on New Year’s Eve, when Draco and I were gone for basically twenty four hours?”

Ron shrugged his shoulder. “Celebrate New Year, like the rest of us…”

“Just the two of us, though” Draco grinned and fed Teddy another piece of bread. "And over night." He winked at Harry.

It seemed to dawn on Ron. He frowned and looked from Harry to Draco and back. “Are you two trying to tell me that… that you’re in a relationship?!”

“Quite possibly” Draco grinned at Harry, who in turn rolled his eyes.

“Pretty much, yes” Harry answered straight forward.

Ron stared at his cake, lost in his thoughts. Though, not for long. He looked back at the Slytherin, raising one eyebrow. “I thought you were supposed to marry Astoria Greengrass? Isn’t there something like a marriage contract?”

Draco sighed. “Yes. But my mother’s trying to talk them out of it.”

Harry’s best friend stood up slowly and grabbed his cake, pointing his fork at Draco. “If you hurt him, I’ll come after you.” He was silent for a while and shook his head. “No, actually, I’ll just get Hermione and she’d teach you a lesson.”

Draco chuckled and nodded then. “Duly noted, Ronald.”

Ron rolled his eyes and walked up to his room, still eating cake. Harry exhaled and gave a laughing Teddy another piece of bread.

“Well, that went better than I’d have thought” Draco grinned.

“Oh, you think being threatened by my best friend to get his girlfriend if you hurt me is ‘better than you thought’?” Harry laughed and shook his head.

Draco nodded. “Yes. He didn’t tell you that you shouldn’t have hidden it that long, he didn’t kill me when he found out about it. He simply threatened me to not hurt you. I’d probably do the same.” Teddy welcomed another piece of bread from Draco and grinned happily.

*

Saturday was here quicker than they all thought and Harry and Draco prepared for an afternoon with Jessie Appleton. They had gotten instructions of where to apparate (basically her doorstep) and Draco had been cleared for apparating, though Kingsley had told him that it should be the last time for a month – the other Aurors were starting to think that he had gotten some kind of special permission.

So, when it was two o'clock, the appeared in front of the Appleton residence. The house wasn’t that big and once Draco knocked, the door was opened by a house elf, looking very dull and not happy that there were visitors.

“Good afternoon, we're here to talk to Miss Jessie Appleton.” Draco looked into the house, as did Harry. He couldn’t really see anything as it was really dark inside. It was a huge contrast to the green and shiny garden outside full of colorful flowers and herbs. There were no candles, no light anywhere.

As if she was a ghost, Jessie Appleton appeared behind her house elf and smiled at them. She was wearing a rather old dress and even her hair looked as if it had last been popular a few decades ago. Harry didn’t really like the house. It reminded him too much of when Nagini was hiding as this woman. The house itself also seemed as if it hadn’t been used for quite some time. “Welcome, welcome, dears and please do call me Jessie!” The woman smiled at them and led them to a room with a huge table in the middle.

As if Draco had felt Harry being uncomfortable, he grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. Harry looked up and smiled weakly at the Slytherin. He didn’t like it here. All the pictures at the wall seemed to be so very old and there seemed to be a layer of dust over everything.

Nonetheless, he decided to give this a chance. Maybe it wasn’t all that bad. However, his months on the run had taught him to follow his hunches and he foresaw nothing good for this visit. “Thank you so much for taking time to meet us” he decided to start off nicely.

“No worries, dear. I have waited for someone to have lived through what I have lived through and I’m happy to help you with some problems.” Jessie smiled broadly and pointed at the tea kettle. “May I offer you some apple tea with cinnamon? I still have some Christmas cookies left over. My nephews and nieces like to bake them.”

Draco thanked her as he accepted his tea. Harry decided to accept one, but not actually drinking it. Somehow this woman made him paranoid again that something might happen any time. “I hope we’re not being too much trouble” Draco offered an apology.

Jessie on the other hand, smiled and shook her head. “Oh no, dear. I do like to talk about those memories. They are one of my favorite memories of my brother.”

“We both read your book and we’re very interested about all of it.” Draco seemed to take the lead in this discussion for now. Truth be told, Harry was incredibly happy about it. He was too occupied with his own thoughts.

Neither Jessie nor Draco seemed to realize something, as they kept on discussion things. However, Draco was squeezing Harry’s hand more often than not, so maybe he realized that something was going on. “I believe you; having some personal experience always gives you some more interest in something. So, what would you like to talk about? I’ve heard your father and some of his friends have arrived?” Jessie answered lightly and smiled.

“Yes” Harry answered quickly and nodded. “And we’re having trouble keeping them away from information about what happened to them in their future. They already know so much and I’m frankly scared to let them know some more.”

Jessie frowned and narrowed her eyes clearly thinking about something. “Do they not know that they die?”

“No, they actually know that already.”

Jessie smiled at Harry. “Well in that case you already mastered the difficult parts.”

“The thing is, Miss… Jessie, that they died because of their actions and they’re currently trying to avert said action.” Draco tried to clarify some things. Harry was really happy that he was here with him. He seemed to have a cooler head than he had.

“And what would be the result of this change?”

Harry frowned slightly. “Well, for starters I wouldn’t become the Boy Who Lived, but a normal citizen.”

“Which would be bad?”

“No, Ma’am, but it’s not how the story goes. They’re supposed to… to die in order for everything to turn out okay.” Well. It looked like this woman had her own idea of what you should do and she clearly believed that messing around with a Time Turner seemed to be a good idea. Harry started to not really like her. Though this had already happened before he had entered her house.

“Yes, what if they change some minor thing and everything goes sideways?” Draco asked another question, finally putting down his cup.

Jessie chuckled and shrugged her shoulder. “Well, I have learned that the truth beats all ‘what if’s’. When I told my brother that he was going to die in the second war, he was heartbroken. Yes, he was thinking about not joining the soldiers fighting, but he couldn’t really stay away. That was his destiny.”

“And it’s sadly my parent’s destiny to die.” Harry tried really hard not to shout. Jessie seemed very happy that she had told her brother that he was going to die and she also seemed proud of that. He played with his sleeve, feeling uncomfortable.

“Maybe, but have you considered giving your father and his friends all the knowledge _you_ have? They could fight the war you have fought and you could be just a boy!” Jessie’s eyes sparkled and she was clearly over the moon with her idea.

“That’s not really why we came here…” Draco shook his head and watched Harry carefully. He could feel his gaze on him, but he decided not to answer to anything.

Jessie shrugged her shoulders. “Yes, I know. You wanted to be able to see the bigger picture. Truth be told, I told my brother not to fight in the war and if he couldn't resist, not to go to Poland. They bombarded this whole city. Well, he went anyway, not to Poland but Germany. And died there. He was never able to fight back. But your parents could have been fighting back!”

“It’s not supposed to happen!” Draco was about to shout, but Harry put a calming hand on his arm. Nothing good ever came out of an angry Slytherin. Or Gryffindor for that matter.

The old woman clearly didn’t mind, as she shook her head. “Oh, shush! This is an opportunity! No one could fight Voldemort while he was so strong. But if your father knew all his secrets, maybe he could have died much faster.” 

The Slytherin was breathing heavily and Harry knew that he was about to lose it. “That would change all of history!”

“Yes, it would. But it would save hundreds of people and give you a normal childhood.”

Harry was quiet. He could save them. He could save Fred and Remus and Tonks. He could save them all from dying! He could give them a normal life. He could _have_ a normal life! Who wouldn’t want to have such a life?!

Draco placed a hand on his arm. “You’re not really thinking about this, are you, Harry?”

“I don’t know, Draco.”

Jessie laughed and Harry was already frowning at her. She clearly seemed crazy. “Think about it: All of what you had to go through is suddenly gone! You can be a child again! Have a happy family and memories you actually like!”

Draco shook his head and got up. “Thank you so much for your help, Miss Appleton. I think we have heard enough and need to go again.”

The Slytherin grabbed Harry and pulled him to his feet. Harry followed, not really wanting to resist, but also not wanting to be rude to their host. “I appreciate you taking time for us. Thank you, Jessie.”

“Anytime, boys. If you have any further questions, just owl me!” Jessie called after them, before Draco dragged Harry out of the house.

They walked in silence through Muggle London and towards the Leaky Cauldron. Harry could feel Draco staring at him and kept his eyes locked on the ground. He wasn’t sure what to think. Luckily, the Slytherin being here helped him through all his confusing thoughts.

“Harry, please tell me, you’re not really thinking about telling them how to beat the Dark Lord! They can’t do that, they’re just children.” Draco held his wrist back to quite effectively stop him from walking.

“We were just children as well, Draco.” Harry shrugged and leaned at an iron fence, trying his hardest to think of a good reason not to tell them. Not that he wanted to tell them about their future or the Horcruxes, but he had heard so many pros for telling them that he needed something against it.

Draco shook his head. “Yes, but we grew up with war.”

Harry smiled weakly. “So did they, angel, we weren’t the only one.”

“Angel?” Draco was thrown out of his element and looked at Harry as if he had just told him that he’d been Salazar’s heir all along.

Harry chuckled lightly. He felt so much better since they had left that house. There was definitely something strange going on there. “I’m testing nicknames. Not the one?”

“I don’t know… But back to your father and his friends…” Draco started.

Interrupting him as quickly as he started, Harry had his thoughts sorted out, at least a little. “I won’t tell them anything about Voldemort’s Horcruxes, don’t worry. We found them all in the past, everything’s fine today and we just have to worry about getting them home.”

They stood there, quiet for a while, until Harry spoke up. Something in her story hadn’t made any sense and he just thought that the solution was here. “You know, I don’t think her brother traveled alone. With the Time Turner I mean.”

Draco frowned. They were back in their way towards the Leaky Cauldron, but Draco had stopped again and looked at Harry a little unsure of what he was talking about.

“She travelled with him.”

“That makes no sense, Harry.”

Harry laughed. “It’s the only explanation of how she knew where her brother was going to die. Think about it: Time Turners don’t change history. Everything already happened. So how would she know where her brother _would have_ died? The only solution would be that she traveled with him and her future self told him where not to go. So he doesn’t go there, but dies anyway and the child grows up to tell him not to go there.”

Draco shook his head. They had arrived at a rather busy street and waited for another Muggle bus. The Slytherin had insisted on taking their transportation and far was it from Harry to refuse him such a small thing that would make him happy for a while.

Their bus wasn’t to arrive for another two minutes and Harry turned around to Draco again. “I know it makes no sense, but the only people to remember what happened while they traveled through time were people who… _traveled through time_. And yes, angel, before you ask, I traveled through time, so I know what I’m talking about.”

“When?” Draco grinned and looked up at the timer which had just changed to one minute. Harry smiled and grabbed Draco’s hand.

“Third year; we had to save Buckbeak and Sirius.”

Draco was quiet again and Harry had his suspicions as to why. He squeezed the other man’s hand and gave him an encouraging smile. “What I’m trying to say is that she doesn’t make herself sound sane.” He was quiet for a second and remembered a weird detail. "Hey Draco, do you remember when she said her nephews and nieces baked Christmas cookies?"

"Yes, why?" Draco frowned, until his eyes widend and he shook his head. "She only has one brother! There shouldn't be any nieces and nephews... Holly shit, I hate this woman."

Harry couldn't keep himself from laughing and he gave the blond wizard a tight hug.

“Do you think her house might be a problem as well?” the Slytherin asked, once they seperated, and turned to face the arriving bus.

They stepped inside and Harry paid the tickets. They then proceeded to climb up the stairs and sit on top to have a good view over Muggle London. Luckily, the very front seats had been empty.

“What do you mean by her house?” Harry asked after a while, when he leaned his head at Draco’s shoulder.

The Slytherin smiled and kissed his hair softly. “I don’t know, calinours. It seemed… off. Something wasn’t right.”

Harry nodded and sighed. “I think it has something to do with her not dying.”

Draco frowned, but before he could ask something, Harry sat back up and explained what he meant. “I’m pretty sure that the future her told past her that she was going to die if she followed her brother, so she didn’t. That decision made her stay alive and be able to tell past her not to follow her brother.”

“That makes no sense, Harry! You can’t be alive if you’re supposed to be dead!”

“Which is why I think her very existence is destroying her surroundings. She shouldn’t be able to exist, because she already died. With her brother. But past her being able to somehow not die made her being able… in the future… to tell past her that she shouldn’t do something.”

Draco sighed and rubbed his temples. “That’s seriously messing with my head.”

Harry only nodded. Before they could say something else, a young woman leaned over and smiled at them. “I really love your story! You should write a book about it!”

He smiled, a little flabbergasted and turned back to Draco, when she left the bus. “Should I write you an essay, so you’ll understand it? Maybe I can sell it as a very short book.”

Draco laughed and shook his head. They sat there in silence for a while, before Draco leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Harry’s lips. He was surprised, but leaned into it anyway. “You are quite the miracle, Harry Potter” Draco whispered once they had separated again. Harry cupped his cheek with his gloved hand and laughed. 

“Well, I couldn’t be so strong without you, so all the praise should go to you, angel” he said smiling. The laugh before had something very freeing and Draco had definitely felt it as well. 

“Just because you keep repeating it, doesn’t mean I like your nickname.” Draco rolled his eyes, which made Harry chuckle again and he smiled at the Slytherin. He wished that the blond wizard would put his arm around him to make him feel safer, but he didn’t have the courage to ask him. This was what Draco did to him. It transformed him into a mess, sometimes flirty and risking everything, sometimes even too scared to ask for a simple hug.

He grinned at the blond wizard instead. “Do you think I like being called teddy bear?!”

Draco laughed and finally put his arm around Harry, which made him fall in love even more. He snuggled into Draco’s half hug, placed his head on his shoulder and saw the Slytherin actually winking at him. “I do actually. I think you love it and you can’t get enough of it, _calinours_.”

“Alright, so from now on I will call you ‘babe’, is that better?” Harry rolled his eyes, though he grinned and stole a quick kiss from Draco, before he could answer.

“Hell no! You need to be more creative than that!”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Because all your nicknames for me are so creative! They’re just French!”

“So? I know for a fact that you love it when I speak French.”

The bus stopped and Harry and Draco got off the bus. They walked through the small streets until they finally reached the Leaky Cauldron through a lot of side streets.

“Sadly it’s true, I can’t get enough of you speaking French. What if I call you dragon?”

This made Draco laugh loudly and he shook his head. “If you do that, I’m going to kill you. My mother calls me that and I really don’t want anybody else calling me that.”

Harry smiled. He just had the perfect idea and this one was it. Probably. “In that case, I will call you my dragonfly.”

“I actually don’t mind that one.” Draco smiled at Harry and pulled him closer, before they entered the pub. 

Draco looked back at Harry and there was such a loving expression on his face that Harry’s heart was racing and his breath was fastening. How could they survive their last months at Hogwarts? And more importantly; everything else life wanted to throw at them? He couldn’t think about his life without Draco. He was his everything. Nothing could change that. And nothing could replace him.


	68. Spending Time in the Future isn’t normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry makes a huge decision that has to do with the marauders.

“I want to tell them everything. No, in fact, I need to tell them everything about their lives and about my life so they understand what I’m going through.”

Harry sat once again in Angelica’s office after Christmas break. He had thought long and hard about what Jessie had told them and he was sure… as sure as you can be about something you have no control over, that he needed to tell them everything that happened. Well, not everything, but as much as possible. Not to make them change history, but because maybe they would understand him better after.

“Why the sudden change?” Angelica looked up from her notes and let the quill sink into the ink jar. Harry looked at the individual strings of the feather, which were some kind of fluffy grey threads.

He didn’t look into her eyes, not sure was he was expected to say. “I don’t know.” He sighed softly. “I talked about it with someone who lived through something like this as well and she mentioned how it was easier once her brother knew everything.” That wasn’t really what happened, but this sounded better than the truth.

Angelica smiled at him, once he decided to look at her. “I understand, but they’re only fifteen and sixteen. Don’t you think telling them how they will eventually die will traumatize them forever?”

“Maybe.” Well, he would have been traumatized if it was him, but on the other hand, he had been through so much that he already was traumatized. So, no surprise there. With his father and friends, it was different. They probably had never had something so traumatizing happening to them. On the other hand; Voldemort was in the prime of his war while they were in school. Maybe he was just trying to keep them safe. “They do already know that they’re all dead by now. They know that Sirius will not be able to adopt me and that Remus will have a child without ever knowing him.”

It was quiet in the office for some time, before Angelica spoke up again. “I see.” She looked down and seemed to read some of the notes. “Just as a question, what would you do if they freak out and you realize that you made a mistake?”

Harry sighed. He hadn’t thought about that. Though this was always a very good question. What if he told them that Pettigrew was going to tell on James and that this was his downfall? What if… Harry shook his head. No, he shouldn’t ask himself all those _what if_ questions. They never worked out in his favor.

“I… I will obliviate them and ignore all the future questions, tell McGonagall what I did and maybe lock them inside a room so they can’t get to information that will harm their understanding of things.” Not really humane, but if this was what it took for him not to die or stop existing, he would definitely do that.

Angelica had been quiet for a little while, before she sighed. “Professor McGonagall will not be happy with this, will she?”

“No” Harry hesitantly shook his head. “She forbade me from telling them what happened. Actually, she forbade everyone. Neville already told James about how he dies and how I’ll become an orphan. Sirius knows he’ll die in the Ministry, though I haven’t told him that his cousin was the one killing him, and Remus found out on their second day or something that he’s going to die in the Battle of Hogwarts.”

“I see. So why do you want to tell them everything?”

Harry rubbed his temples. That was a good question. He really shouldn’t tell them. He should let them stay in the place they were in right now. Maybe even ask McGonagall to redo the magical spell she used at the start, so they wouldn’t be able to find something else. However, it didn’t feel like the right thing to do. And if the war had taught him anything, it was to follow his inner voice, most of the time it was the correct thing to do. “I feel that if they’d know all that happened, they'd probably be able to accept that they’ll die much easier. If they know that in the end, I’m okay and that they don’t have to change the course of history for me to have a life that I like, they might just stop asking people for information. They keep asking me to tell them everything so they can redo or rather undo everything. Maybe, once I told them that everything has to happen just as it did, they will not try and stop the history.”

Angelica was quiet again. Their discussion today seemed to be very hard. “That is a good point.” She stopped once again, frowning at her notes. “Would you like to tell them everything while I’m here, so I can help you, or are you telling them alone?”

Harry smiled weakly. Draco had already made him promise not to tell them alone. He was probably worried that he would have another breakdown and that he couldn’t be there fast enough. “I’m not telling them alone, Draco will be there. But I would actually like your assistance as well.”

His Mind Healer smiled. “So, how about on Thursday? During your session?”

“That would be very helpful.” Harry nodded and returned the smile. He already felt a lot better than before.

“Very well.” She made a note and Harry appreciated the quick silence. He'd had to jump over his shadow to tell Angelica what his plan was. He had pondered over who he should ask for advice. If Remus had been alive, he would have asked him, but as a teenager, he really shouldn’t throw him into something like that. McGonagall would have told him that his idea what bad and that the time travelers would be back in no time. Everyone else, he would have asked for advice was already dead. That thought was really depressing. Luckily, Angelica brought him back to earth. “Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?”

“No.”

She smiled at him. “Well, then I have a question for you: What is the situation between you and Draco?”

Harry felt heat travel to his face and tried as much as possible, to keep cool. “I… I don’t know what you mean.” Great, the short stutter at the beginning, definitely made it look like he had nothing to hide. He chided himself on the inside, still trying to keep it as cool as possible.

Angelica chuckled. “Of course, you do. Come on, Harry. We know each other long enough for me to know when you’re trying to hide something or try to lie to me.”

“Well, okay. We’re in a relationship.” He blushed a little. “Yes, I know he’s a pureblood and he’s supposed to marry somebody else, but I do not care what some people say. I know Draco cares and that’s why his mother’s trying to convince the Greengrasses to ignore the contract. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this happy.”

His Mind Healer nodded. “You do look very relaxed and happy. Especially if you consider that you just adopted a child before Christmas and that this might be a lot of work.”

“Teddy is the sweetest little boy I’ve ever seen. He’s always happy and laughing and nothing could destroy this. I wouldn’t change a thing” Harry raved about his godson for quite some time and he knew that his enthusiasm was a little too much, but Angelica didn’t seem to care.

She smiled at him broadly. “So, there’s nothing bad happening?”

Harry shook his head, a little confused. “No. Why do you ask?”

“Well, Harry. It’s my job.”

“Right, sorry.” He blushed again, this time not because they were talking about his relationship with Draco, but because he suddenly felt a little stupid having asked his Mind Healer why she would ask questions.

Angelica laughed and shook her head. “No need. So, anything you’d like to talk to me about?”

“No, not that I could think of something.”

They ended the session quite quickly and once Harry walked out of the office, he found Draco once again on the floor, though this time, he had a toddler on his knees and was talking and playing with him, while Teddy made some happy noises. Harry couldn’t help but smile.

McGonagall had told Draco, that his detention was over and now he spent almost every waking hour around Teddy. These two were quite the pair.

Draco took Teddy’s plush Snitch and hid it behind his back, which made the toddler, get up and, while holding on to the Slytherin’s robes, walk around him and get his Snitch back. The robes were dragged away, and while Draco pulled them back into their rightful position Teddy flailed about and almost fell on his arse, when the Slytherin steadied him again.

Teddy squeaked and Harry chuckled, while he walked closer. His godson or rather son, saw him coming and clapped excitedly, though missing his hands again.

“Hey guys.” He grabbed his godson and placed him at his waist.

Draco smiled at him and got up as well. “How was your session, calinours?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll see, _dragonfly_.”

He felt the Slytherin pulling him closer and once Draco had looked around to see if they were alone, he kissed him slowly and so sweet. Harry couldn’t concentrate on anything else anymore. All what was counting right now was his stomach turning, his heart racing and his nose recognizing those sweet smells Draco was engulfed in. He felt safe and loved and happy. He felt as if there was nothing in his way to pure and utter happiness. As long as Draco was around.

When the Slytherin pulled away, Harry snuggled closer to him and closed his eyes. He felt Draco’s chin on top of his head. If a perfect world existed, this moment would last forever. Of course, moments like this never lasted that long, as they were interrupted very quickly.

“Good evening, Angelica” Draco said and Harry almost jumped away, before he turned to look at their Mind Healer. She smiled at them and nodded.

“Well, I see what you meant earlier, Harry” she had a slight smirk on her face, before wishing them a nice evening and walking towards the kitchen. Harry hid his face in Draco’s chest, definitely blushing.

Draco only chuckled and put both his arms around him and pulled him closer, careful not to hurt Teddy. He kissed Harry’s forehead and his temples. “I think someone’s been talking about our relationship.”

“You must be dreaming” Harry answered, though he was talking into the Slytherin’s chest. He felt Draco's arms pulling him even closer and he had to sigh. He relaxed and raised his head to look up into those grey eyes, which looked back at him so full in love. How could he even stay away from Draco all this time?! It was clear that this Slytherin was all he needed.

Draco smirked. “To be honest, I have been dreaming about you for a long time, calinours.”

Harry rolled his eyes and tried to get out of the blond wizard’s hug. However, Draco held him so closely that there was no escape. He chuckled, reminded of those minutes he had spent in Draco’s hug on the floor after he had his breakdown. He leaned in and kissed him again, before breaking free eventually.

“I think, we should eat dinner, Draco.” Harry shrugged his shoulders. Draco grinned and kissed the top of his head.

He then walked next to him towards the Great Hall. “I have an idea for a nickname, by the way: how about munchkin?”

Harry shook his head vehemently. “I will not call you munchkin, that’s Teddy’s nickname.”

“Unbelievable” Draco frowned at him, though Harry saw the humor in his eyes. “You have a name for your child _before_ you have a nickname for your boyfriend!”

He stopped walking immediately. Draco stopped as well, frowning as to why he had stopped. Harry smiled and looked down at Teddy, who seemed to be happy just to be around him. When he raised his head, Draco had this affectionate smile on his face.

Harry closed the gap between them and chuckled. “Two things, Draco: I already have a nickname for you; that’s dragonfly. And secondly: That’s the first time you called me your boyfriend.”

Draco widened his eyes. “True.” He gave Harry a quick kiss on his lips. “It’s not the first time someone called you their boyfriend, though.”

“The first time it counts.”

The Slytherin chuckled and winked at him. “Let’s go to dinner, calinours.”


	69. You put your Pants on one Leg at a Time (just like everybody else)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco decide to have some fun in the air and the next day, Harry tells his father and friends a little bit about their future.

Being back at Hogwarts with Teddy was a little weird. When they had sat in the chariots bringing them up to the castle, Harry had told Hermione and Ron (and Draco as well), that he was getting a room for two and for Teddy. Ron had immediately told him that he would be fine with Zabini alone and that if he was to choose him, Draco would most likely end up dead on the castle grounds. Hermione had also agreed to it and so he didn’t even have to actively choose someone. She also told Ron that he was welcome in her room anytime he didn’t want to spent time with Zabini. Though the Slytherin spent every waking hour in the Slytherin Common Room with people of his liking…

Harry had to say that the Slytherins also changed a little bit. Maybe they realized that they couldn’t just do what they wanted to, as McGonagall had expelled three of them, so they probably just accepted their fate. He also saw them starting to be better people. For one, most of them had apologized to Draco and others had actively started to tell their peers to stop harassing him.

The only one who remained evil was Zabini. There was no reason for him anymore. He had done everything he could to be on the same level as everyone else and even higher. Yet, he still tried to hurt Draco or Harry. What would he do if he saw them together? Or if he realized that Teddy was everything for him…

Teddy was a sensation around Hogwarts. During the lessons, Madam Pomfrey had accepted to look after him and sometimes even McGonagall visited him and he was allowed to crawl around in her office. Harry would get him for lunch and after his last lesson of the day, entertaining him during his homework and other studies.

Two days after his discussion with his Mind Healer, he told his father and friends that the next evening they were going to accompany him to his Mind Healer. If they didn’t want to be there, he wouldn’t accept any more questions.

Sirius, having to be the smart one, added that he’d never answer them anyway. To which Harry had to tell him that maybe he would answer questions if his Mind Healer was present. This comment definitely made them all interested.

James and Remus offered to babysit Teddy for an evening and sent Harry and Draco away. The Slytherin had just rolled his eyes, but grabbed both brooms and threw Harry a questioning look. However, if they had wanted to be alone… walking through a Common Room of Quidditch fanatics with a broom was not the best thing to do. Soon, almost all of them trailed them to the Quidditch pitch.

The people following them were Dean, Fay, Sophie, Ron, Hanna, Sally, Neville, Hermione, Michael, Terry, Anthony, Megan, Lily and Daphne. While Neville and Hermione sat on the stands, cheering both teams on, Harry asked Draco if he wanted to fight against him and got an interesting answer.

“I’m not really a Seeker, Harry” he grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “I honestly just wanted to get your attention and what better way than to have to fight for the Snitch?”

Harry was flabbergasted and started laughing shortly after. “That is actually genius!” he shook his head. “So what position would you prefer?”

Draco answered without having to think about it. “Chaser.”

Laughing, Harry turned around to the people following them. “Draco and I will be on the same team! We still need two Chasers, two Beaters and a Keeper!”

“Wait, so we’re building a dream team? I want to be your Keeper!” Ron shouted and jumped in the air as if he was having too much energy – which he probably had. Dean also ran to their side – another Chaser.

Fay grabbed Sophie and they were standing next to Harry and Draco. “Chaser and Beater reporting for duty!” she grinned.

“Why does everyone want to be on their team?!” Antony rolled his eyes. “Who wants to be on my team? I’ll be the Keeper!”

Michael and Terry quickly walked to his side and Sally grabbed Megan and Hanna to walk over there as well. There were only two people left: Lily and Daphne. Lily seemed really happy that she wasn’t going to be a Keeper, though with two Bludgers back in the game, being a Chaser didn’t sound all too good.

“We still need a Chaser!” Terry called out.

Harry was laughing too much to say anything. The energy around here was so different and it made him feel so comfortable and happy. Instead of him, Draco called for another place. “We only need another Beater!”

That was quickly resumed, as Lily wasn’t ready to throw away the Bludgers and Daphne seemed to be into this. Draco seemed to be a little scared of Daphne and Harry frowned, before realizing that she was Astoria’s older sister.

Fay brought the big trunk and told Harry to already mount his broom, as she was going to let the balls free. However, she didn’t get to do that, as Madam Hooch walked onto the pitch. Everyone froze in their action and looked down to the field. Harry flew down and a few others came into the proximity of hearing distance.

“This seems to be legit game, so I would like to assess.” She looked up and smirked at the players. “I want to see a fair game!”

Harry turned to face Draco, grinning, though the Slytherin rolled his eyes. The players flew back to their position, Fay in the air now as well.

“Unbelievable!” Sophie shouted and pointed to the castle, where about a hundred students ran to the Quidditch pitch. “Someone alerted the press!”

Harry laughed and almost fell off his broom. “I don’t think so, Sophie. The Daily Prophet’s not here.”

“They’ll find out about it eventually!” Fay shouted and sat down on her broom, a little more comfortable.

“And do what?” Ron called from his place by the hoops.

Draco flew by next to Harry and winked at him. “Tell everyone that we’re just normal children.” He looked down at Madam Hooch who followed their interaction and seemed to wait until the spectators had filled in. “Children, who want the game to start!” he shouted down at her, though she seemed to be oblivious to that particular comment.

Sophie held onto her bat, threw her right leg over her broom and dangled in the air upside down, waiting for the game to start.

“What are you doing, Sophie? The game’s about to start” Daphne called, but placed her bat on her knees as well, laughing.

This was probably the first time Harry had ever heard her speak. He looked over to Draco, who seemed to be occupied by looking towards the people, filling in the stands. Harry saw Ginny and Luna and he laughed, when Ginny started the commentary through the speakers. That definitely suited her.

When Madam Hooch shouted that the game was starting any second now, Sophie had some trouble, climbing up and sitting there, so Fay and Dean helped her up. The flying instructor released the Snitch and both Bludgers.

Before the other ball was thrown into the air, Harry recognized four teachers in the stands as well: Slughorn, Flitwick, Rabnott and McGonagall. When he saw Rabnott he was suddenly aware of the leaf in his mouth and hoped that he wouldn’t swallow it during the game, but it was a little too late to start thinking about that now.

The Quaffle was thrown into the air and the game started. Harry hovered higher and observed. Draco hat definitely found the perfect position. He was playing with Dean and Fay as if they had been playing together for years. Anthony had no chance against any of them and Harry was fascinated by the way they could outsmart their opponents. Sophie and Daphne were also born to be Beaters. They attacked the others so many times in a row that the other Beaters couldn’t protect them all.

Out of the blue, the Snitch flew by his ears and he turned his broom around and flew behind the little golden ball. Megan joined rather quickly and they sped through the air, blasting behind the smallest Quidditch ball.

The ball dashed through three Chasers and Harry stopped quickly, while Megan had some trouble and collided with Lily. They swirled to the ground and luckily weren’t injured or anything. Harry looked up again and caught Draco’s smirk. He grinned as well and started looking for the Snitch again.

Megan was back in the air, when Harry saw it on the other side of the field and sped towards it, the other Seeker on his trail. She was not close enough to stop him from grabbing it and winning the game.

And with that, the game ended and people were cheering. Dean (and Seamus in the stands) let some fireworks go off and Harry laughed, almost choking on his mandrake leaf, which luckily, didn’t happen.

*

The day Harry had been dreading was here. It was Thursday. Harry felt almost the same as he had, when he had told Hermione and Ron that he had died during the final battle. Only this time it was much harder to think about something he should be hiding.

McGonagall wouldn’t be pleased at all if she’d found out what he wanted to do. It wasn’t so much the story of their life that would be problematic, but the eventual life choices each member of the marauders would have to face once again (or for the first time in actual life). The question whether or not they should do it just as it all happened or if they should actively discard everything and start anew. This possibility scared Harry.

Yes, his life hadn’t been all that great and he would love to grow up knowing his father and mother and all his friends, but it wasn’t what was supposed to happen. They were all supposed to die, to meet him when he was ready to die and help him wander the forest grounds to his eventual death. This was supposed to happen. Nothing else.

Draco seemed to know that Harry was troubled, as he went out of his way to help him with anything he could possible need. Teddy was crying? Draco already changed the dirty diaper, fed him and rocked him back to sleep. He needed attention? Draco was there, playing until Teddy couldn’t possibly want more. Professor Sprout was giving Harry a hard time with his plants? Draco changed his with Harry’s and even though Harry protested, the Slytherin got a bad mark for Harry’s plant. At lunch, he didn’t even let him go to the Great Hall and made Hermione and Ron entertain the marauders. The two DADA lessons in the afternoon were only theoretical, so there was no problem there. Still, Draco stayed by his side, helping him with every small problem. If Harry hadn’t felt so weird, this would have been annoying, but he realized when the evening had come, that the Slytherin had actually helped him, keeping some of the energy, so he could face his past and his father and friends. He clearly needed it.

And before he knew it… time was up. Hermione and Ron decided to look after Teddy, and Draco went to get the marauders, while Harry walked to Angelica alone. He was trembling a little and before he walked around the corner he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply three times. It calmed him down enough to appear calm and collected. And just like that he entered Angelica’s office.

“Harry, how are you?” Angelica had set up a few more chairs and was sitting behind her desk, looking through some notes.

“Hi Angelica, I’m fine thank you. How are you?”

His Mind Healer smiled as if she knew that it took a lot of concentration, not to break down in front of her.

“Quite good. Are your father and his friends coming?”

Harry nodded and informed her that Draco would be here as well. Which she should probably know already, as he had told her about that already. She smiled at this information and nodded silently. After what she had seen on Monday she probably thought that it wasn’t really surprising his boyfriend would be there to help him through with everything.

Just that moment, Draco knocked at the open door and walked in with James, Sirius and Remus in tow. Angelica introduced herself, once they all sat down and the door was closed, and explained why they were all here – though Harry believed that none of the attendees had a problem remembering why they were here.

“So how is this working?” Sirius wanted to know.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I have two suggestions, though.” He looked at the marauders and since they weren’t saying anything, he decided to continue. “I could either tell you the story of each one separated or… I could tell you my story with you in a more or less chronological order.”

“I’d prefer the latter” James said almost immediately and the other time travelers agreed. Harry nodded and decided to just start talking. If there was something he didn’t want to say, he was just going to ignore it – for example his first ten years with the Dursley’s. He was also not going to reveal the identity of his mother.

He crossed his legs, sitting Indian style, and realized after Sirius and Remus snorted, that it was exactly what his father was doing as well. He ignored them and looked at Draco, who smiled at him encouragingly. “So, you all know that I don’t have that many memories with you” he looked at James and smiled sadly, which his father returned. “I know a few things though, I know that we seem to posses the same ability to get ourselves into trouble and that we have the best friends to get us out of it rather quickly.” He grinned at Remus, who chuckled silently. “I also know that when you go back, Dumbledore has started a secret group, called the Order of the Phoenix, which you all will join and fight against Voldemort.”

“And we will lose” Sirius said, a little angry.

Harry smiled. “Not at first, though. It will look like Voldemort’s forever gone. Everyone believes it.”

Remus and James nodded. Sirius still seemed to be a little angry, though a friendly touch and nod from Remus seemed to calm him down.

“So, I will die before your second birthday?” James asked carefully. “And this will be the fake end of Lord Voldemort?”

“Precisely” Harry agreed. “And I’m placed with the… relatives” he stopped himself from saying their name, though to be honest, Lily was called Lily Evans and her sister hadn’t married Vernon yet, so maybe James wouldn’t have realized who it was. Still; he needed to be careful with some information. “And ten years later I got into Hogwarts, met Ron and Hermione and… Draco” he grinned at the Slytherin who rolled his eyes.

Before he could continue talking, Sirius interrupted him. “And why are you placed with relatives and not with me? I’m your dogfather after all!”

Harry saw Angelica frowning and he had to grin slightly. Over her reaction, not really why Sirius wasn’t his father.

“See” he stopped and debated in his head, how much information he should reveal. “There was a problem: Voldemort had gotten wind of a prophecy that said a child was going to be his downfall and it just so happened that all the details matched my description. So Dumbledore told you to move and get a Secret Keeper… Do you know what a…?”

“Yes” all three of the time travelers said quickly. If the situation hadn’t been so tricky, he would have definitely laughed over their faces, though right now he had to think about what to reveal and what not to reveal.

Nodding, Harry bit his lower lip. “Well…” Should he tell them what Pettigrew did? It would mess up the time line… It could mess up all kinds of stuff… However, if he didn’t tell them about what Pettigrew did and that Sirius was trying to kill him and went to Azkaban for the murder of his best friend, there was no actual reason for Harry not to have landed in his care. He needed to tell them.

Sighing, he raised his head. All eyes were glued on him. “So, the Secret Keeper you guys selected was Peter Pettigrew. And he betrayed you.”

“What? Little Peter?!” Sirius shouted and started laughing. Harry bit his lower lip again, and Remus smacked Sirius, who was quiet immediately.

Nodding, Harry started again. “You see, this is why I was so happy that you traveled without him, because I do not know what I would have done, if he appeared in front of me. Yes, in the end I didn’t die because of him, because he owed me a favor, but in general, history would have been so different, if he hadn’t been your Secret Keeper.”

The three time travelers were quiet. Harry looked at Draco, who smiled at him. He returned the smile and took a deep breath. “Pettigrew told Voldemort where you guys were hiding and he went and found you, killing you and my mother” he looked at James, who was a little pale.

He then looked at Sirius, who was practically fuming. “You confronted him, but Pettigrew was able to convince everyone that he died and that you were the one killing not only him but James and my mother as well. They sent you to Azkaban for it and because of all this, I got sent to other relatives and not you.”

It was so quiet in Angelica’s office that you could have heard a feather float down to the earth. Sirius was now pale as well, staring at the flooring. Harry sighed, before he continued. “When I was in my third year, you managed to escape and tried to kill Pettigrew once again.”

“If you say that he died because he owed you a favor that means I don’t get to kill him” Sirius said quietly and Harry could see a glimpse of his future craziness. He only nodded and the Gryffindor clenched his fists.

“So, what about me?” Remus asked carefully.

Harry smiled. “We meet on the Hogwarts Express on my third year, you happen to be my professor, which Draco already revealed.” He grinned at the blond, who blushed slightly.

Remus nodded. “What subject do I teach?”

“Defense against the Dark Arts. You were the only valuable teacher, we had so far, right?” he asked Draco and chuckled. “I learned a lot from you, which definitely helped me surviving this long.”

The werewolf looked like something had clicked into place. “Is that why you don’t want to teach me the Patronus?”

Harry nodded, blushing a little. “Yeah, you taught me in third year and I have no idea how this time travel thing will mess up time if I teach you how to do a Patronus only for you to teach me in my past, but your future.”

“But you’re okay with telling us exactly what happened in your past and our future?” James asked, visibly amused. Harry rolled his eyes.

“I could stop right now, if you want…?”

“NO!” Sirius and Remus shouted and James chuckled.

Harry smiled a little. “There’s not much left to talk about. Once I realized Sirius wasn’t out to kill me, you became an amazing father figure and I was honestly looking forward to the day people realized that you weren’t the one killing my family.”

“Which didn’t happen” Sirius finished the sentence and Harry nodded. “Why?”

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t tell him what happened exactly. “I already told you, though. I thought you were in danger, so I tried to save you, but it was a trap and you had to save me instead, which you did.”

“But I died, doing so.”

Harry nodded again and Sirius was visibly fighting for something to say. He was, however, not able to do so. Harry turned to Remus, though not really looking at him.

“And that also meant that Remus was the only person left I could find a father figure in. And we helped each other through the war, though not without some minor fights” he smiled at him and looked back at the floor. “When the final battle came, you were there to protect Hogwarts and you… you did so…”

“With my life” Remus ended the sentence and Harry nodded, biting his lower lip. “And I had a wife who died in the Battle of Hogwarts as well, a month after she gave birth to a boy and we made you godfather.”

Harry looked up surprised. “Yes… How did you know?”

“I might have been in the Great Hall when you were fighting with Hermione about adopting Teddy” Sirius said grinning slightly.

“So, Teddy’s my son?” Remus asked and Harry could see his eyes glowing proud.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“And you’re not going to tell us, who our wives are?” James asked, but only to confirm.

Harry smiled. “No. Life is full of surprises and happy memories, even if it’s going to end sooner that it has to. I think it’s important to enjoy it all. And maybe, knowing that I will be okay in your future, will give you some kind of peace of mind when you die.”

James visibly relaxed. Seeing Harry ‘happy’ and ready to face the world was probably enough for him right now, though Harry wasn’t sure if he could actually face the world. Remus was apparently also happy and Harry knew that the knowledge of his son being Harry’s family clearly helped with that. The only person who wasn’t all that happy was Sirius.

“When we get back, I’ll kill Pettigrew!” he said, his eye glinting with anger.

“That would be counterproductive” Harry said immediately.

Sirius shook his head. “He killed our friends! He is the reason that I’m going to Azkaban! How can you sit there and not be on my side?! You get to grow up with your actual dad!”

Harry bit his lower lip again and sighed then. “Because life is messed up. We don’t get what we want. And there was a time when I had the chance to kill Pettigrew” he thought back to when he was saving Sirius by time traveling himself. “But I didn’t do it, because this is how history works. And it works out in the end. Just think about it; if I grow up with my parents, I probably had never met Ron on Kings Cross, I would probably hate Slytherin with a passion and maybe Voldemort would have never been defeated.”

That was a blatant lie. Voldemort would have probably realized that Neville also worked and tried to go after him instead. He wouldn’t grow up to hate Slytherin, his mother had liked Snape after all and Voldemort would have been defeated after some time. Literally nothing lasts forever. Also, nothing he had gone through all these years would actually happen to him: he would be invisible, just another wizard. Exactly what he had always wanted to be. But he couldn’t get weak right now. He needed to stay strong, let them think that he was okay with it. And in a way, he was okay with it. If he didn’t think too much about it. When they tried to make them tell every detail so they could undo this.

The session was over and Harry was happy that his father and friends now knew a little bit more about his situation (and also their lives), so they headed back into the dormitory. When he opened the door, they almost collided with Hermione and Ron, looking scared.

“Ron, Hermione, what happened?” Harry asked and looked around. “Where’s Teddy?”

There was a two second pause, which made him freak out internally, before Hermione answered. Though her answer wasn’t any better.

“We don’t know.”


	70. Lost in the Sands of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus is looking for his son, following Harry and Draco around.

Two days. It had been two days since Teddy went missing! He couldn’t be alive. He was certainly dead…

Remus was following Draco and Harry through the castle, while Sirius and James walked after Ron and Hermione. They had to find his little son again! This couldn’t really be the end of him! He wanted his son to be happy with Harry and Draco. Only with this thought could he be okay with dying in the war after his son was born!

Luckily, Harry was organized enough – a trait he probably had to learn while being on the run – so he had sent Ron and Hermione to the Room of Requirement, which wasn’t shown on the map, Harry had about Hogwarts. He decided to visit the Chamber of Secrets (which existed?! But never made it onto the map). Draco had asked him if he was joking, apparently he didn’t think such a place actually existed.

Harry led them to a bathroom, closed his eyes and said something that sounded like a lot of hissing sounds. The thing that surprised Remus, was how uninterested Draco was in Harry actually speaking Parseltongue. However, the bathroom opening in the floor changed the priority of his thoughts.

“Holy shit, Harry! It actually exists?!”

Harry nodded and smiled at them sadly. “We need to go down there. I’ll go first. Be careful.”

“Wait, if whoever it was that kidnapped Teddy wasn’t a Parseltongue, how could they have opened the door?” Remus asked and looked from Harry to Draco.

Draco shrugged his shoulder. “There’s an old book written by Salazar Slytherin that explains different practices on how to pretend to speak Parseltongue. I guess _whoever did this_ read it and tried it here.”

Harry sighed and pointed to the tube. “Are we good? Can we go down and look for Teddy?” 

With that he jumped down. Draco held his breath, leaned over it, but jumped after him rather quickly. Remus stopped at the edge, but took a deep breath. He had to find his son, no matter what. So he jumped in as well and they slid down and landed hard on the floor.

James’ son was next to them rather quickly. “Come on, that way.” He pointed towards a fallen down wall and they walked next to some spider webs, which Remus quickly realized weren’t spider webs but one huge and old snake skin. That was really scary!

Apparently, Draco thought so as well. “Hey Harry, did you say Slytherin’s monster was a basilisk? Did you actually fight it?”

Harry turned his head and nodded, which made Draco and Remus inhale sharply. This man already was amazing and now he was even more so. They walked in silence, when they reached another door. Harry sighed and spoke another thing in this other voice. The door opened slowly and a noise startled all three.

“There’s nothing alive down here, is there?” Draco asked quietly.

Harry shook his head. “The last people down here were Ron and Hermione, snatching some basilisk teeth. There’s nothing down here that could survive. Only dead things.”

As if to show his point, a skeleton looking shadow crept around the edge. All three men stopped dead in their track. Harry held his breath. “It’s the basilisk.”

“What?!” Draco and Remus asked at the same time.

“I don’t know how this is possible, but it’s the basilisk. The skeleton of a basilisk, anyway” Harry explained. When Remus looked at Draco, he was suddenly extremely pale.

His knees buckled and Harry caught him pretty quickly, looking concerned. “Hey, Draco. Calm down. Everything’s working out. We’re just going back up and keep looking for Teddy somewhere else.”

Draco shook his head, which made the other two frown. “You can’t go up. Teddy’s in there.”

“How do you know that?!” Remus asked frowning. Harry seemed confused as well.

“It’s an old spell. It brings things back from the dead. But it needs a sacrifice, mostly children under a year are perfect” Draco explained, looking into the room and pointing to the other end. “He’s there!”

Remus looked inside and actually saw his son. He was lying on the floor. Surrounded by some weird drawings and other things. No one was moving, probably because there was a basilisk alive and slithering around on its bare bones. It made the most horrendous noises.

Harry finally turned to face Draco. “Can you undo the spell? Do you know something about it?”

The Slytherin bit his lips and looked at Remus. “I know the gist of it, but we need another sacrifice. Blood from his family.”

“I’ll do anything” Remus answered without hesitation. He looked from Draco to Harry.

James’ son nodded. “In that case you two get Teddy away from this sacrifice and I’ll go distract the basilisk. I’ve fought it already. And this time it’s missing some teeth.”

“It’s also dead, Harry” Draco reminded him and frowned.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Go look after Teddy.” With that he drew his wand and snuck closer to the sound that terrified Remus extremely.

Draco grabbed him and dragged him to his son, where they looked at the drawing. The Slytherin had told him to look for the beginning of the circle of signs, which was the part where they could enter and get his son out of there. Remus found it quickly, but before they could enter, they heard Harry yelling some spells and a loud and ghastly sound of a dead creature filled the air. Teddy winced slightly and he looked at the Slytherin, who nodded at him to enter the circle.

“Whatever you do, Remus, don’t get out before I tell you to” Draco warned. “It’s quite an old spell, so there hasn’t been much improvement since, because people forgot about it.”

He exhaled slowly and looked at his son. “Then how do you know about this spell?”

Draco took out his wand and held out his hand for Remus to expose some skin, probably so he could be bleeding.

“My father had a huge private library with all kinds of long forgotten books and spells inside. Only a pureblood with excessive education in dark magic and magic in the Middle Ages would know such a spell.”

“Zabini.”

The Slytherin nodded and slowly cut a wound in Remus’ hand, let a few blood drops fall onto the floor and looked at his son. Nothing seemed to be happening. The only thing they noticed was Harry yelling another spell and another ghastly, scary sound echoing through the halls.

Remus just wanted to say something, when Draco shook his head and squeezed his hand a little, so that a few more drops fell onto the floor. It hurt so much, but he couldn’t very much concentrate on this, as just that second, Draco whispered some incantation and the signs started glowing softly.

The dead creature screamed and they heard another sound of bones over the ground. Someone yelled – possibly Harry – and when Remus looked at Draco, he saw him clearly contemplating if he should run away towards those horrifying sounds. Turning around, he saw James’ son being thrown into a rock. He did hold onto his wand tightly and the next thing was an ice spell that kept the creature unable to move for a few seconds.

When Harry got to his feet and looked over, he shook his head. “Stop worrying about me! Do what you need to do so we can leave!”

The skeleton got free and attacked him again. Harry threw some not really useful jinxes at it and ran into the other direction, so the basilisk wouldn’t be able to figure out what was going on with its sacrifice.

“What now?” Remus asked, while Draco looked at the blood and the glowing lights.

He bit his lips and looked over to where Harry had run. “I don’t know. All the text in this book was hypothetical.”

In this instant, the toddler started breathing again and Draco inhaled very relieved. He let go of Remus and carefully grabbed Teddy. He wasn’t fully awake and looked very weak, but he was alive. Remus was really happy about that, though he would have preferred his baby boy to be fully awake, this was better than nothing!

As soon as they had left the circle of signs, an earthquake hit the chambers and the creature screamed so loudly and so high that it travelled through Remus’ spine. Seeing Draco, it was probably the same for him as well.

Harry came running around the corner and yelled at them to go behind the door they had come in. Shortly after they had started moving, the bone basilisk moved behind all of them. Remus screamed loudly and ran even faster. This beast was horrifying! He understood why the secret chambers weren’t on the map. He was definitely not going to tell his friends about what happened here. In his life, this thing was probably still alive…

They reached the door, when Remus turned around and saw Harry stumbling and falling to the floor. Draco shrieked. “Harry!”

The basilisk's head rose into the air and dove into the ground, his bony body almost touching Harry, crushing him inside all his movements. Remus turned to face Draco, whose eyes were wide and fearful. Suddenly, Harry got out of the basilisk's body and ran towards them, the basilisk hard on his trail. Of course, he had to stumble again, and Draco let out a sob. "HARRY!"

“Close the door!”

The Slytherin shook his head vehemently, Remus saw Harry trying to get up again, while the basilisk attacked the man. “CLOSE THE DOOR!” he shouted and Remus started pushing the huge snake door close. Draco was clearly about to lose his mind, when Harry slipped through the small opening and closed the door entirely. There was a noise behind the door that sounded as if something tried to attack it.

Harry leaned against it, breathing heavily. He needed quite some time to get his breathing to a more normal speed. Draco was sitting on the floor, hiding his face in his hands, Teddy in his lap and Remus stared from one man to the other in disbelieve.

“Sorry, Draco” Harry finally said and raised his eyes to look at his boyfriend.

The Slytherin, still sitting on the floor, breathing just as heavily as the Gryffindor, looked up and Remus saw a few tears on his face. “Do _not ever_ do something like that ever again, Harry! You don't need to play the hero again!”

Remus noticed how his voice was trembling slightly and he was sure Harry had realized that as well. He quietly nodded, carefully wiped away his tears and they walked back through the rubble towards the opening, where they had come in.

There were three brooms lying on the floor and Remus was sure that Ron and Hermione had brought them there, since they hadn’t found anything in the Room of Requirement. Harry mounted one broom and Draco carefully gave him Teddy, before him and Remus mounted the other two.

In the bathroom, Hermione and Ron were waiting and when they saw Teddy, they seemed to be relieved. They rushed to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey came to aid quickly.

There was only one problem. Her diagnostics didn’t reveal anything. Teddy should be awake and playing, but he wasn’t and no one knew why.

She sent for Bellchant, Slughorn and McGonagall and cleaned Remus’ wound in the mean time and checked for some problems on Harry. Once she foundnothing on him, Harry slumped down on a chair next to the toddler and his eyes filled with tears. Remus couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

McGonagall was the first to march into the Hospital Wing, even though her way would have been the longest. When she saw the scene in front of here, she walked over to Draco who seemed to be the one the least impacted by what had happened, though looking at everyone… that wasn’t hard to do.

“Mr. Malfoy, what happened?”

Draco turned, his eyes were wide open and he looked back at Teddy, Harry and even at Remus, before he started talking. “I... I don’t know… Teddy was gone and we looked for him all over the place. Harry realized that Teddy should be on the map, but when he looked, he couldn’t find him. Ron then mentioned how he wasn’t on the map when he was in the Room of Requirement and him and Hermione, as well as James and Sirius went looking for Teddy there. Harry mentioned how there was one other room that wouldn’t show up on the map and we went to the Chamber of Secrets.”

McGonagall turned to face Harry, who was sitting, staring at Teddy. Madam Pomfrey was working away with all kinds of different potions. Suddenly, Slughorn walked in and the two of them started theorizing and working even faster and more efficient.

Remus got up and joined Harry, while McGonagall walked closer. “Potter, what happened in the Chambers?”

“Somehow Teddy had been chosen as a sacrifice and we wanted to get him back. So…” Harry had definitely some problems talking about what had been going on. “I distracted the basilisk and Draco saved Teddy. But now he’s not waking up.”

McGonagall placed a hand on Harry shoulder and looked at Draco questioning and he nodded. “It looked like an old sacrifice spell, I simply worked with the finis sacrificum spell, which…”

“…works for all the sacrifice spells, well done, Malfoy.”

Remus frowned. He had never heard of anything like that. Then again, it was the future, so maybe in the future there were more things like that, who knew.

Just then, Bellchant walked in and McGonagall questioned him on an old spell that would need a baby as a sacrifice. Remus remembered how Draco had said that there were a lot of those spells and when he looked at his baby boy, he seemed to be even paler than before.

Something wasn’t right and he hated it.

“From what I know, it’s the excitare mortem spell; it awakes dead things but needs a fresh sacrifice. Normally the spell would be complete in three days, so you got him just in time” Bellchant explained and walked closer to Remus’ son. “The only problem is that I haven’t heard from anyone actually surviving this spell…”

“Because all the babies die to keep someone else alive” Draco added, his eyes wide with shock and there was clearly something hopeful in his voice.

Bellchant shook his head. “No, because the spell is extremely powerful, it pushes all the willingness to live away and no baby has ever recovered from something like this.”

Remus held his breath and he could see how Harry pressed his hand on his heart. There was a sob which he had stopped in the middle and Draco was immediately by his side. All the adults were confused for a second and Remus could see what James had said: These two were one of mind. Draco spoke softly in what Remus thought was French and Harry clung firmly to his sweater and every word he was saying, though he probably didn’t understand anything.

Madam Pomfrey and Slughorn started again with trying to find something for Teddy, while McGonagall kept a close eye on Harry and Draco and Bellchant opened a book he had brought about something.

“Professor, is there anything we can do to… to get Teddy to wake up?” Remus asked and McGonagall slowly turned to face him, still turning around to look at Harry and Draco from time to time.

“I don’t know, Remus. But we will do anything we can. Do you have any idea who might be doing something like that?” Even though she asked, he was sure that she had an idea herself.

Nodding, he answered. “Draco thinks it’s Zabini. He’s the only one who had access to a big library of old books, where this spell might be written.”

McGonagall turned around to look at the two men again, by now they had changed their position. Harry was sitting on Draco’s lap, hiding his face in the crook of his neck, clearly crying and the Slytherin was rubbing his back and whispering something – probably French. Remus would have loved to find out what she thought about that, but she stayed quiet. At least about what she thought of it.

“How long has this been going on?” she asked Remus, who shrugged as an answer.

“I don’t know, Professor. But I’d say for at least as long as we’ve been here. Their relationship started after Christmas, though.”

Bellchant was next to them rather quickly. “I’ll be getting Zabini, then.”

The headmistress shook her head. “No. I’ll be expelling him for this right now. He shouldn’t be able to see the aftermath of his actions.”

With that she rushed out of the Hospital Wing and Bellchant followed her, probably to get the Slytherin to tell him what spell he used. Madam Pomfrey and Slughorn left to go to her office and talk about their next steps. And he lay in bed, hoping that there might be something he could do to help his baby boy. But there wasn’t anything he could have done.


	71. Thin Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teddy's still not awake and Harry stays by his side.

“Harry, you need to sleep.”

The voice had been quiet and right next to his ear, but it startled him and he inhaled a little surprised. He looked at Draco, standing next to his chair and then over to Teddy, who looked way too pale. Still, after more than twenty four hours, he still looked the same as when they had saved him from his sacrifice.

“I’ll sleep once he wakes up.”

Draco stood behind him and massaged his shoulders carefully. Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head on the Slytherin’s stomach. “Please tell me he’s going to be okay. That he’s going to wake up and all my worries are for nothing.”

The blond wizard placed a kiss on top of his head. “It’s going to be okay, calinours.”

Harry shook his head. “That’s not what I wanted to hear, Draco.”

“I know, love. I know. We just have to stay hopeful. Maybe he’ll wake up soon.”

“What if he doesn’t?!” Harry trembled slightly and he felt Draco suddenly hugging him tightly. The Slytherin murmured something in his ears he couldn’t understand and gently kissed his earlobe. Even though he couldn’t understand it, he felt himself relax a little.

Harry sighed and turned to face his boyfriend. “Draco, I don’t want anything bad happening to Teddy. And all this just so that… so that I could tell my father and friends what happens to them? If I wouldn’t have told them, Teddy would have been with you and…”

The Slytherin shook his head. “Don’t do that to yourself, calinours. Zabini would have found some other way to get his hands on Teddy and kidnap him. However, if I had been with Teddy and he would have tried to steal him, I would have killed him.”

Rolling his eyes, Harry smiled softly and kissed the Slytherin’s cheeks. “That would have cost you a trip to Azkaban, dragonfly.”

“One way or return?” Draco asked and winked at him.

Harry couldn’t suppress a short chuckle and leaned at his chest, while turning to Teddy. He couldn’t really deal with seeing his godson like this. Yes, he was breathing. Yes, he didn’t have any damage. Yes, all the scans Madam Pomfrey did, turned out fine, but he wasn’t fine. He was breathing shallow and he didn’t wake up.

“Harry, we’re all doing everything we can, you know that, don’t you?” Draco whispered into his ear and he nodded a little. “I’ve asked Kreacher to bring you some food, so you can stay here and I’ll take notes for all the classes. I’ll be back during all the breaks and whenever I can, love.”

Harry nodded again and Draco placed another kiss on his cheek, before leaving for class. For a while, everything was quiet. Madam Pomfrey was with Slughorn, they were talking potions and everyone else was in class. He looked outside to see the rain hammering at the window, dark windows and the leafless trees blowing in the wind. It was dismal. It was exactly like he felt.

Suddenly, the door opened and a redhead was looking into the room. “Hey mate, how are you doing?”

Looking up, he recognized one of his new brothers. “George, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I was working at my store, when McGonagall flooed in and told me about what happened.” The redhead smiled and sat down on a chair next to Harry’s. “How are you?” 

“Could be better, honestly.” Yes, the only thing that could make him feel better was Teddy actually waking up and smiling, laughing at all of them as if it had been a huge joke.

George faced Teddy with a weird look in his face. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“I just… I want him to wake up again.”

There was a short and uncomfortable silence in the air. “Yeah.”

Harry bit his lips. “Sorry, it has to remind you. I didn’t want to…”

“Don’t worry, Harry. It’s a hard yes, but I don’t think that’s going to happen to Teddy.” George smiled sadly at him and placed a calming hand on his arm.

Harry nodded softly. “He’s so young. And he can’t really die because I made the decision not to stay by his side.”

Once again, Harry hated himself for this comment that just left his mouth. George nodded thoughtfully. “If it had to happen, it probably would have happened, even with you by his side.”

“Because you were by _his_ side.”

They both seemed to try and not look at the other. Even though it was more than three quarters of a year, all of those wounds from the war were still fresh and way too deep. 

“Yes. And we were young too. Too young to die. But I’ve heard you saying that destiny had decided to end your parents lives as well as Sirius’ and Remus’. So maybe it’s the same with Freddy.” George smiled weakly, a single tear appearing on his cheek.

“I’m really sorry, George.” Harry bit his lower lip, while George wiped the tear away.

He smiled a little and gave him a soft half hug. “I know you are, mate. You know I’ve learnt from you to get back on my feet and just keep going.”

Shaking his head, Harry answered. “I don’t give the best advice.”

This comment made George laugh softly and he turned to Teddy. There was a hopeful look on his face, which Harry loved very much. He wanted to be this hopeful as well! “No, but Teddy showed me that there’s still fun and laughter in my life. Even if Freddy’s dead, I have to get up and move on.”

“He can do that, that’s true.”

The redhead suddenly blushed a little and nodded. “Which is actually why I have a date next week.”

Thinking, he hadn’t heard right, he looked around the room, until his eyes settled on the other man. “You… what?!” He had a date?! “Hold on, don’t you think that’s a little early? You said…”

“Yes, mum!” George rolled his eyes, not even waiting for Harry to finish his thoughts. Harry noticed a faint spark in his eyes and he knew instantly: This was what could bring him back from the half living to the actual living people. “Well, it’s Angelina Johnson.”

Harry laughed. It was weird, laughing in the Hospital Wing, next to his fighting godson. But he had to laugh and it felt freeing. “Wait, our Quidditch captain?” He chuckled, when George nodded, which an overly red head. It did match his red hair, though. “If you ever have children, they will be able to fly before they can walk!”

“Don’t get overly excited, now. You are the one who already has a child!” He looked back at Teddy and smiled. “And we both know he’s going to beat this minor thing that’s happening right now.”

Harry smiled and nodded. George had this ability, which he thought only Draco possessed, of making him think of something else, actually getting distracted and feeling okay about it. Before Harry could say anything, the door opened and McGonagall walked in.

“Potter, Kingsley Shacklebolt has just been in my office, they had done another test with the Time Turner. Apparently, it still doesn’t work, but they figured out the surrounding magic thing. It shouldn’t last all that long anymore.” The headmistress looked around and saw George, sitting next to Harry.

“Hi Professor, thank you for calling me.” George grinned and McGonagall nodded.

She closed the door behind her. “Weasley, sorry to disturb your discussion. Kingsley wanted to deliver the news personally to you, Potter, but I decided you should have time for yourself.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Harry nodded.

McGonagall then said something, Harry had heard the second time already this morning: “We are doing everything we can, Potter. I hope you know that.”

He was almost smiling now. “I do, thank you.”

Once the headmistress had left again, George frowned and looked at the toddler in his way too big hospital bed. “Well, that was nice.”

“What do you mean?” He had noticed the redhead being a little taken aback by how McGonagall decided to address his father and friends, rather than the other extremely important topic of his godson being unwell.

“She didn’t even look at Teddy!”

Harry shook his head. “Don’t be upset, George. I’m pretty sure that she loves him as well. This hits her rather hard I suppose. After all, it should be the time for peace, not for sacrificing babies.”

George nodded and got up again. “If there’s anything I can do for you, do not hesitate okay? We’re family now. I will do literally anything for you!” Hearing this, warmed Harry’s heart. He loved his new family, though to be honest, he had loved them even before they had become his real family.

“Thank you George. It means a lot!”

*

Wait, did he fall asleep? He wasn’t sitting in the Hospital Wing anymore. Now, he was standing outside of Hogwarts, a thick fog surrounding the castle and the slightly brown grass… oh no. He fell asleep without taking a Dreamless Sleep Potion. Of course, his stressed mind was presenting him with another nightmare. He hadn’t had one for almost a month now. And the second, his godson got thrown into a life or death situation, they started again. This was definitely what he needed to get a good night’s sleep.

Sighing, he turned around and looked over the battlefield. It seemed to be a normal nightmare. Tough he hadn’t had it in quite some time, so what was normal anyway…

People lying on the floor, blood over their faces and bodies. Broken wands, snake bites and werewolf bites. People fighting in the distance, screaming, yelling. Magic was basically pouring out of the ground, there seemed to be an endless stream of blood and Harry suddenly recognized people he cared about in the Great Hall.

People were still fighting! There was no way they could collect all the dead bodies inside the Hall. Also, there were only his beloved, everyone else’s was scattered around. There was Fred, dead. George quite like it had happened in real life, lying on top of him, not willing to let his brother go. This time though, Arthur was dead as well. And next to him lay Molly.

 _Yes, my parental figures always die. Right_ , he analyzed the dream and turned away. Even though he tried to look at it through his logics, his emotions always seemed to overpower him. And that was, what made him stay in bed for almost a week after he’d had a nightmare. He wasn’t ready to face to world, who thought that their amazing Boy Who Lived Twice, the Savior of the Wizarding World, had no problems.

On the floor next to Molly lay Ron, claw marks over his face and a rather nasty looking wound on his neck. His eyes were open, staring into nothingness, dead and glazing over. _Full moon didn’t happen on the second of May_ , Harry analyzed once more, trying his hardest not to focus on his dead best friend on the floor.

It didn’t really work. He felt himself tearing up and a pain he hadn’t felt for months manifested itself in his chest, right above his heart. Ron was dead. They couldn’t joke around, discuss some weird magical law. He couldn’t marry Hermione, have a thousand babies and live happily ever after.

Speaking of Hermione… As if his brain recognized a very important person, he spotted her wild hair a little on the back of the hall. Oh no! He stumbled closer and looked down at his best friend. She looked as if she was sleeping, though not quite as peaceful. Her face was disfigured by some weird spell, he had never heard off (he was unsure if it even existed in real life) and there was a lot of blood on her. It covered every inch of her clothes and skin, except the scar that said “mudblood”.

People were laughing diabolically outside the Great Hall, but it seemed as if he was safe in here. He turned around to look for someone who was still alive and could maybe help him somehow. _Draco could probably even help me out of this shitty nightmare_ , he thought, before realizing that thinking that was a mistake. A huge mistake.

He discovered platinum blond hair and his heart stopped. It literally stopped. Well, it felt like that. He couldn’t breathe anymore and shook his head. This wasn’t Draco. There were other people with blond hair at this school and he… he was outside, fighting. Or in the Room of Requirement. The possibility of him being there was almost a thousand to one, really. He couldn’t be dead.

While he walked closer, hesitating and very carefully, his brain was explaining to him that Draco being dead couldn’t possibly been happening. Who would have even killed him?! The dark side wouldn’t have killed him and the light wouldn’t attack a fellow student, if he didn’t attack first. Draco wouldn’t attack anybody. He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t. He wasn’t allowed to be dead. Harry needed him. He couldn’t go through life alone. Draco was the only one who could help him through all of the challenges that presented themselves to him. He was not allowed to be dead!

Draco was dead.

All of Harry’s trying-to-stay-emotion-free went out the window when he saw Draco. His love. The only one he would ever think of living with in the future. His hair wasn’t as blond as he had seen first, it was mixed with the man’s blood and a huge mark was on his face. His shirt was ripped and the scars he had made in fifth year, were open again and still bleeding. The Slytherin’s dark mark was visible and it moved until it suddenly manifested itself in the air and Voldemort stood in front of him.

Harry screamed. All of his frustration with this dream, his pain and hate for what had happened. His self hatred came out as well. He did this. It was his mistake, Draco was dead because of what he had done.

“If you wouldn’t have met Draco Malfoy, he would have been still alive. It’s your fault” Voldemort whispered constantly into his ears, while Harry kneeled next to his dead lover and buried his face into his chest and started crying.

“I’m so sorry. I never wanted any of this to happen. Please wake up again. I can’t live without you!” Harry was sobbing and clutched the Slytherin’s shirt, when he suddenly felt himself being pulled up into some strong arms.

Voldemort? Would he be hugging him? That made no sense! When Harry looked up, he saw Draco, through his teary eyes. He suddenly realized that he had left the nightmare and was back in the Hospital Wing, surrounded by nobody but Draco, who whispered a mantra in French into his ears and held him tightly.

Harry let out a distraught sob and nestled into Draco’s tight hug. The Slytherin was sitting on the floor in front of Harry’s chair and Teddy’s bed and held Harry on his lap. After a while, where Harry calmed down slowly, he started recognizing more stuff. For example, Draco’s smell of home and safety and love.

“It’s okay, Harry. I’m here now, love.” Draco suddenly changed to English and switched between whispering softly into his ear and gently kissing his temple, until Harry had calmed down even further. The Slytherin seemed to know exactly what he needed.

This nightmare however, left Harry feeling even worse than all the others. Every movement was too much and he couldn’t keep himself from thinking about a dead Draco, it being his fault. Before he could fall back into hysterically crying in the blond man’s hug, the Slytherin started rocking gently and whispering sweet nothings into his ear.

“We’ll get through this together, okay?” Draco whispered and held him even tighter when Harry nodded, tears streaming down his face once more and he snuggled more into the blond wizard. That was exactly what he needed.


	72. Just in Time and not a Second too late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco are still waiting what fate brought for Teddy and after some time, get thrown out of the Hospital Wing.

It was now almost seven days since Teddy disappeared and almost five, since he reappeared and was situated in the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey and Slughorn had developed some potion, which didn’t really do anything. Draco was the one who suggested adding Dittany and suddenly, Teddy had gained back some color.

Harry was incredibly thankful for having Draco around. Yes, his own skills with potions had increased, but whenever he was under stress, he just couldn’t think straight with all those ingredients. It was so much different from DADA, where he could cast all the spells they had to learn over the past few years without even using his wand. The same happened with Charms. He had started to master even the difficult one’s, the one’s even Hermione still had to say the words or concentrate really, really hard on.

But Potions was his weakness. Sometimes he was amazing at it, other times he sucked. And seeing Teddy almost looking dead was definitely enough stress for his mind to completely lack any knowledge of anything!

The potions they had been giving with Draco’s input had helped incredibly and Madam Pomfrey said that Teddy should be about to wake up any time now. Harry hadn’t left Teddy’s bed for all this time. Draco had brought him everything they had been doing in class and they had studied together, Hermione and Ron joining them after dinner and until curfew. When the two of them left, Draco had brought out Harry’s Invisibility Cloak and they had been hiding under it for the entirety of the night. The Slytherin holding him close, so he hadn’t felt alone and with this thought, he would always fall asleep.

He was sure that not only did Madam Pomfrey know that they were staying on the Hospital Wing hidden under Harry’s Invisibility Cloak, but also McGonagall and all other teachers and students (who cared), however, no one wanted to say something, because… Well, maybe they thought it was cute. Who knew that anyway…

The closeness to Draco had helped him immensely. This man could calm him down, help him though all the nightmares and whenever he felt alone und unloved, Draco somehow knew what he was thinking, and was close to him, showing him that everything he was thinking wasn’t true.

He had one of those moments again, when Draco held him close and Harry was basically clinging to the Slytherin, trying to remember that he liked him, that he wasn’t alone, when a soft whimper brought both of them back to reality.

In the next few seconds the whimper turned to a full blown crying and Harry ran away from Draco and into Teddy’s view.

“Hey, little man! I’m here, munchkin! I’m here!” he said, well practically yelled and Teddy calmed down as soon as he had wrapped his fingers around Harry’s index finger.

When he looked up at Draco, he saw a very relieved expression on his face and he walked closer as well.

“Hi Teddy” Draco smiled and put his arms around Harry.

Madam Pomfrey seemed to have heard that someone was awake and stormed out of her office. She shooed Harry away from the toddler for just a few seconds to examine him and apparently decided that he was good to go.

Harry waited anxiously for the Healer to finish examining his godson. Once Madam Pomfrey stood in front of the two men, she smiled at them. “Is he going to be okay?” Harry asked, though the warm smile on her face made him think that maybe he was all right.

“Yes, he will be. I would just like to keep him here for another few days. Just to make sure there is not damage.” Madam Pomfrey nodded and Harry inhaled deeply. He was alright; the sacrifice spell didn’t hurt him. Or maybe not for long.

Harry felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders and he felt like he could start laughing loudly any second now. Teddy was alive! He was going to be okay! Everything was going to be just fine!

“Thank you so much, Madam Pomfrey!” Draco smiled and put an arm around Harry’s waist.

The mediwitch smiled. “You just take care” she answered and shooed them out of the Hospital Wing, saying that Teddy needed some peace and quiet and that she’d be by his side all through the upcoming days and nights.

Once they were outside of the castle, Harry felt as if he could finally breathe again. He turned and almost fell around Draco’s neck; the Slytherin only had a few microseconds to realize that his boyfriend had launched himself at him. Luckily, he did catch him and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. Harry had nothing against it and held onto Draco tightly. The past few days had been horrifying, but Draco had stayed by his side, nothing bad happened and nothing bad was going to happen.

“I thought he was going to die” Harry whispered quietly and he felt Draco pulling him even tighter. He snuggled closer to the Slytherin and inhaled the smell he loved so much.

Draco kissed his neck softly and smiled. “I know, calinours. But nothing happened. He’s alive.”

Harry nodded. Yes, nothing happened, but his heart had felt like it was ready to explode any second now. Teddy being alright, was everything he needed to feel a little normal again. “It was so scary. I don’t think I could have gotten over this.”

The Slytherin stepped back a little and frowned at him, which made Harry raise his eyebrows in return. “What?”

“Harry, stop with all those ‘what ifs’. It only makes life more complicated.” Draco sighed and pushed a curl of hair back behind Harry’s ear, kissing his temples. Harry smiled a little as he felt himself shiver. He still hadn’t gotten over Draco touching him so lovingly.

When he looked at his boyfriend, who smiled back so clearly in love, he snuggled back into his arms. “Why should I stop? Everyone does that!”

“Yes, well. Your ‘what ifs’ aren’t very healthy. You always think about the worst case scenario.” Draco chuckled softly and started rocking a little, while Harry smiled into the crook of his neck.

“No, I don’t” Harry argued and drew the Slytherin into a deep kiss, which he returned. Draco pulled him closer and deepened the kiss. Harry just couldn’t get enough of this man, he seemed to be so lost in the moment, and frankly, Harry was as well. When they separated, desperately panting for air, Harry trailed a few chaste kisses down Draco’s neck and to his shoulder.

He felt the Slytherin shudder and smiled, when he kissed all the way back and along Draco’s jaw line. He made the smallest of movements and chuckled slightly, when he saw the dazed look on Draco’s face. Without even really intending it, he drew the Slytherin into the slowest, sweetest kiss and put his arms around him.

When they separated again, Draco still held him close and kissed Harry’s neck softly. “You will be my downfall, calinours.”

“I’m counting on it.” Harry grinned and cupped Draco’s cheeks. “Thank you for staying with me, Draco.”

The blond wizard needed a little time to focus again, but soon, he smiled at him, giving him all the attention, he needed. “Nothing could have dragged me away from you, Harry. Literally nothing’s worth more to me than you.”

Harry winced a little and shook his head. “Draco, no. You can’t say something like that.”

“Why not? If it’s true…”

“’Cause I’m not worth that much.”

Harry turned away, clearly trying to get out of the situation, but Draco held him close and was not about to let him go. No matter how much Harry actually tried to get away.

“You are worth so much that anyone who gets to spend time with you should feel honored!” Draco whispered quietly in his ear. Harry bit his lower lips. He stopped trying to get out of the hug, but he wasn’t convinced that whatever his boyfriend said was actually true.

“Why? Because I’m the Boy Who Lived?!” Harry asked a little angry at the title.

“No.” Draco shook his head, after having answered so firmly. Harry didn’t dare answer that. “Because you’re the most amazing human being I have ever met. Granted, I have spent most of my childhood surrounded by Death Eaters and their kind, but it should still be a complement.”

He wasn’t about to let Draco tell him that he was an amazing human being. There were so many problems, he had made so many mistakes and he was responsible for so many deaths… He was not an amazing human being. “I don’t…”

“Stop trying to undermine your greatness and personality, love! You are worthy of being loved and choosing your own way in life. If anyone could come back from having fought the Dark Lord, it’s you. I know you can be extremely brave” Draco interrupted him and gave him a very strict look. Harry felt heat travel to his face, being a little embarrassed about this whole situation.

He wasn’t brave. Just because the Sorting Hat had put him into Gryffindor, didn’t mean he was brave. “Only when you’re around.”

Laughing, Draco shook his head. “Not true, calinours. Earlier this year you fought _him_ without my help…”

“Just because I didn’t really know what I could have had. Now, I don’t think I could even survive a day without you.” Harry poked out his tongue out at Draco and yelped, when the Slytherin tickled him shortly. He grinned and hid his face in the crook of Draco’s neck.

“You are stronger than you think, love.”

Harry looked at Draco and shook his head, before laughing.

“That’s the most stereotypical thing to say to someone you love.”

Now it seemed to be Draco’s turn to laugh and he placed a quick kiss on Harry’s lips. “So is _I don’t think I could even survive a day without you_ , Harry. “

“Well, I’m speaking the truth. So I don’t care about stereotypes and things like that.” Harry rolled his eyes.

Draco smiled softly. “Of course you don’t, calinours. You wouldn’t be Harry Potter if you cared about what other people think.”

Harry suddenly wasn’t sure whether that was an insult or a complement or simply an observation, which he knew the Slytherin was very good at, even though he sometimes tried to pretend not to see something.

He settled for a simple observation. “Draco, I’m just thinking… I saved literally everyone’s arses! I should be myself and no one should care about that.”

Draco snorted, but received a light slap from Harry, which made him frown at his boyfriend. He didn’t say anything though, simply stared at him with a raised eyebrow, until Harry grinned and shoved him back.

“We both know it’s the exact opposite, dear. It’s because you saved everyone that they all want to know who you are and maybe give you advice on how to live your life” Draco said after a few minutes, effectively ignoring what just happened.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Honestly, sometimes I hate your secret power of knowing how the world works.”

The Slytherin laughed loudly and offered Harry his hand. He accepted it and they walked through the grounds. “I don’t really believe that, love.”

A little frustrated with all the little nicknames Draco had started calling him, Harry huffed and rolled his eyes. “Draco, you know what? I think I’ll start counting every time you call me not by my name and maybe somehow punish you for it.”

The Slytherin’s eyes sparkled with mischief and he grinned a little. “What? Don’t you like me calling you calinours, _calinours_?”

“I do, but it’s getting to a new extreme, Draco.”

They were both suddenly interrupted by James, who appeared in front of them, as if he had been a ghost. Harry jumped a little and smacked Draco’s shoulder after the other man failed to conceal his laughter.

“I hate to interrupt you two lovebirds, but I wanted to ask Harry some things” James said and frowned at Draco, who couldn’t keep himself under control for even a second longer. “Well, actually we heard that Teddy was doing fine and we came looking for you, but you were already gone…”

Harry smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Madam Pomfrey threw us out. And of course, James. Ask away.”

“I… I don’t really know how to start talking about this, but… I realized that I’m dying, you know. I will be dead in a few years when I go back and I’m probably not having that many memories of you, so do you think we could maybe spend a little time together?”

Harry nodded. That made a lot of sense actually. “Okay, James. How about going to Hogsmeade on Friday? I know you're not supposed to go out during the week, but I mean... I'm the Savior” he winked at Draco. Hogsmeade wasn’t something special, but the thing was: If they went there together, maybe it would help when James would go to the town in his… past. That way he could remember the time they went there together, whenever he visited the town again.


	73. Making Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco decide to sleep in and go on a second date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s this line that says: Quiet before the storm. I think this chapter is the quiet before the storm. So, enjoy it before we start with the other things.

Harry yawned and turned around. They had forgotten to close the blinds, but since it was a winter morning, the sun wasn’t shining yet, so they had a few more hours until that happened. Next to him, Draco was still sleeping. He looked to happy and calm. Smiling softly, Harry reached out and brushed a strain of hair out of his face. Draco hummed a little and put an arm around Harry.

This action by a still asleep Draco made him almost tear up. No, actually it made him tear up and he almost started crying loudly. This was pure bliss. Lying in bed with Draco, who in his sleep pulled him closer and was now still asleep.

Harry traced Draco’s profile lovingly and with that the Slytherin awoke slowly. When he opened his eyes, there was just pure love inside.

“Morning, Draco” Harry whispered quietly and placed his forehead on his.

As if Draco had needed a few more seconds to figure out if he had been dreaming or not, he suddenly launched himself on top of Harry and kissed him. This time, no one could interrupt them, as Teddy was still in the Hospital Wing just to keep an eye on him and hopefully, everyone else would be asleep.

“You look very handsome in the morning, calinours” Draco whispered into his ear, which made him shiver. Before he could say anything else, Draco trailed lazy kissed down his neck and around his chin to the other side. Harry’s breath hitched and he closed his eyes.

There was this beautiful silence in the room, Draco nuzzling into the crook of Harry’s neck, him placing his arms around the Slytherin and just enjoying their closeness. Draco placed a hand on Harry’s chest and the other next to his head. They stayed there for a while, just the two of them, enjoying the time they could spent together. For the longest time, there was no sound, except for their breathing that filled the silence. After a while, Draco lifted himself up and looked into Harry’s eyes.

“Harry, I know you might not be ready to say it back, but I need to tell you something…”

He was going to say _I love you_. Harry nodded, a little anxious. He would have liked to get a little more time to think about it, but Draco slowly kissed him and made him forget everything. All that counted was this room and the blond wizard.

“I love you, Harry Potter” he whispered into his ear and Harry froze. He turned to face Draco, who smiled at him softly and had an incredible love-struck expression in his eyes. There was nothing fake or forced about it.

“I love you” Harry answered without even having to think about it.

Draco’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard. “You don’t… you don’t have to say it, Harry. I know sometimes it’s hard for you to say things that have to deal with love and…”

“It’s okay, Draco” he chuckled a little. “I wasn’t sure if I could say it back, but I did and I do; I love you, you damn Slytherin. You make me feel so loved and safe and I just…” Harry shrugged his shoulders and looked into Draco’s grey whirl storm eyes, which were a little wetter than usual. “I love you, Draco Malfoy.”

The Slytherin let out something between a sob and a laugh and hugged him, hiding his face in the crook of Harry’s neck. He could feel his boyfriend crying a little and put his arms around him, holding him tight, rubbing his back to calm him down.

Once he had calmed down, they stayed there for quite some time. Draco in Harry’s embrace, calmly breathing and drawing circles on Harry’s chest with his free hand and Harry rubbing his back and kissing his forehead.

“You mean the world to me, Draco Malfoy” Harry said quietly and pulled him even closer. Draco sighed quietly, but happily.

Naturally, whenever they had a moment like this, someone was disturbing them, so this time it was actually, Ron who dashed into the room and stopped at the sight of his best friend and Draco in one bed.

“Oh shit. Did I disturb something or…” he started rambling with widened eyes, when Hermione appeared at the door entrance and shook her head.

Draco kept his eyes hidden, probably scared that they were a little read, but he did chuckle into Harry’s neck. Harry rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything… Why did Ron sometimes not think before he acted? He just had to remember that Teddy was in the Hospital Wing, both of them were sleeping in one room and today was Thursday, so they could sleep in.

“Sorry, Harry” Hermione grabbed Ron and walked to the door again. “Ron was wondering why you two didn’t make it to breakfast and decided to tell you that you guys were late for… study time.”

At the sound of that, Draco jumped up and vanished into the bathroom within seconds, while Harry laughed and sat up. Study time?! It sounded more as if Ron just wanted to see what was happening behind his closed doors and decided to go with the very first thing that came to mind: Study time. As if anyone - besides Hermione and sometimes Draco - used Thursday mornings to study.

He grinned at Ron, whose red face matched his hair quite perfectly. “Thank you Ron. I’m sure we definitely had to be up for such an important time. It’s clearly an uncounted act of heroism for you to walk into our room and wake us up…” Ron was long gone and Hermione chuckled and winked at him.

“We’ll bring James and Sirius to Herbology. Remus is already hiding in the Shrieking Shack, maybe you want to bear him company.” She left the room quickly and Harry yawned again.

He cast a quick tempus charm, when Draco entered the room again. “Is it just me or do people tend to disturb us when we’re having a moment?”

Draco grabbed some clothing and turned to throw a questioning glance at Harry who failed to answer. Truth be told, no one would be able to answer, when seeing Draco like that. At least Harry thought so. He had taken off his pajama top and was only wearing loose fitting silk pajama pants that shone softly in the light. His hair was all messed up and he had an almost knowing smile on his lips. Sometimes Harry hated that from time to time he was able to read him like a book. And now seemed to be one of those times.

Draco walked closer, leaned over him and placed a sickening sweet kiss on Harry’s lips. That was just too much for him. He climbed out of bed, not releasing Draco’s lips and pressed him into the wall. The Slytherin let his hands roam over Harry’s body, having lost the gathered clothes somewhere on the way.

Harry moved his hand through the Slytherin’s hair and over his chest, tracing some scars. And only when his brain started sending alarm signals, did he let go and inhaled as much air as he could. Draco chuckled and pulled him closer.

“I love you so much, my sweet calinours” Draco whispered between panting for air.

Tucking another strain of hair behind the other man’s ear, Harry smiled softly. “I love you too, you complete idiot.”

The Slytherin apparently didn’t care for Harry calling him an idiot, as he kissed his temples again and softly pushed Harry back, so he could gather his clothes again and quite possibly have a shower. Harry followed all of his movements and caught wind of chocolate, roses and pine trees when the other wizard walked by, way too close. Before closed the door behind him, he winked at Harry and jogged down the stairs, leaving a laughing Harry behind.

*

“Draco, what if we would skip class today?” Harry asked quietly as they sat in the library studying. He had just had enough of the complicated Transfiguration essay about transfiguration accidents and their aftermath. Though, when he looked at the Slytherin, he seemed to be completely concentrated on his Potion’s essay.

The Slytherin sighed and placed his quill on the table. “Harry, we can’t just skip a day of school! What do you think McGonagall would say if she’d find out?!”

“That we had a lot of drama and should be allowed to be missing for three lessons. And we do have only three lessons today! Come on, Dray…”

Draco froze for a second, as did Harry and they looked at each other, before Draco started chuckling and shook his head. Harry grinned a little and rolled his eyes.

Once, the blond wizard had calmed down, he mentioned that he was actually interested in skipping the day, but only if Harry could convince McGonagall to give them three lessons off. Harry wasn’t a huge fan of this, but he decided to go with it, if that was the only request Draco had made. Well, it wasn't the only one: the second request was that Harry wouldn’t call him Dray again, he didn’t really like his name changed and frankly, Harry understood. He also liked his name more than the accidental nickname he had given his boyfriend.

Interestingly, McGonagall had absolutely nothing against them missing three lessons today, as long as they would repeat the topics and visit school again tomorrow.

“Both of you are old enough to know what you want to do and to be responsible for any actions you take” she explained and Harry nodded and dragged Draco away to Hogsmeade.

The Slytherin followed quietly for a while, before speaking up eventually. “Harry, where are we going and what are we doing?”

“Second date, Draco” he grinned and winked at him, which made the other man laugh and he put his arm around Harry.

“Are you trying to top my date?” Draco asked and turned to walk in front of Harry, backwards down to the village. There was a sparkle in his eyes that Harry had started to adore. Whenever this spark appeared, Harry knew that Draco was feeling on top of the world and ready for everything!

Harry chuckled and grabbed Draco’s wrist before he could stumble over a rock in the middle of the path. “Who could top your date, Draco?! It’s a date for the history books. In fact, if I ever end up writing that story about my life, this date will get a chapter on itself.”

This made Draco laugh and he shook his head. “Do we still have the deal with your book, Harry? If I find out you let Hermione or Ron write the foreword, I might end up taking them hostage until you let me write it.”

“How would taking them hostage make me give you permission to write the foreword?!” Harry shook his head, but grinned at Draco. If he ever ended up writing a story about his life, Draco was most certainly getting the privilege to write the foreword. Though he doubted that would ever happen.

Their first stop in Hogsmeade was the bookstore, where they rummaged through the shelves and found the cheesiest romance novels and read it to each other one line at the time, trying to create a story of their own. Draco ended up buying the book Harry had been reading out of and they went to grab something to eat for lunch.

The next stop was the potion’s store where they were allowed to create their own little potion. Harry was happily pretending to know what he did and it made him grin from ear to ear when Draco laughed at his ability to mess up everything. And they finished their date at Honeyduke’s where they participated in chocolate tasting. After that they walked back to the castle (with a lot of chocolate and sweets) and the intention to grab Teddy for an hour and look after Remus, so he wasn’t alone. And also to bring him some of the sweets they had bought.

*

Once again, Harry sat in Angelica’s office. This day had been incredible. He had definitely needed a little alone time with Draco and they had enjoyed themselves, not only alone on their date but also with Teddy and Remus in the Shrieking Shack. The highlight, however, had been Teddy calling out for Draco as ‘Dae-co’. And Harry had almost screamed in happiness and annoyance. His godson’s first word… or almost word had been Draco?!

Draco himself had stopped everything he had been doing and stared at the toddler, who in turn looked at him and stretched his little arms out, made it three steps alone, just to land on his arse. They had all celebrated and Remus seemed extremely pleased to be there to see his son’s first steps alone.

“Harry?”

He raised his head and blushed a little. “Sorry, Angelica.”

His Mind Healer laughed lightly. “Is everything okay? Where were you with your thoughts?”

There was no need to lie to Angelica. She already knew about everything, she had been there to witness his lows and highs. And she knew everything about Draco’s and his relationship. “Draco” he answered, still even though she knew about them, a little shy of that.

Angelica smiled happily. “Well, since you started talking about him, let me ask you something. Where do you see your future with him?”

Harry frowned. He hadn’t really thought about it that much. A future with Draco seemed to be the best thing ever. He could basically see it already in his mind; coming home and maybe Draco cooking something in the kitchen. Playing with Teddy together in a big and huge garden – not Grimmauld Place. Some other house that had no memories of past tragedies.

“Harry?” Angelica asked for the second time in this session.

“Oh, sorry” Harry felt the heat travel to his face. “I was just…”

It was quiet for a while, until Angelica finished his started sentence with a small smile on her face. “…dreaming about a life together with Teddy and Draco?”

Harry nodded slightly and Angelica chuckled. “So, how was it?”

Rolling his eyes, he sighed. “Angelica, I’m not sure I should enjoy a fantasy when I’m not even sure what the present hold for us. It’s been almost a month now and Draco still hasn’t heard anything from his mother. The Greengrass family hasn’t said anything either. What if… What if everything’s about to tumble down? I can’t sit here in the middle, dreaming about how life _could_ be, if Astoria accepts that the arranged marriage is wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong with hope, Harry” Angelica answered and shrugged her shoulder.

Harry nodded. “I know. Draco says the same things. I’m just scared to accept this hope. What Draco and I have is too special to ignore. I need him and I can’t live without him. That scares me. I’ve never had something like that before. There has always been this barrier of ‘I will lose everything either way, so no need to start living’. And now, Draco’s here and I actually feel like I’m on my way to start living. I really don’t want this gone.”

Angelica nodded and smiled encouragingly. “That is what _living_ is all about, Harry. If you have nothing to lose, you’re not living right. And yes this can be scary, but that is life. I’m rather sure that Draco feels the same way.”

“Has he… Has he been talking about us?” Harry asked a little unsure whether or not he actually wanted to know and also if his Mind Healer was actually allowed to talk about this, though maybe she would make an exception.

“Harry, he has been talking about you ever since you had spoken in his favor during his trials. There has never been a session in which Draco doesn’t talk about you or mentions you.”

This made Harry blush a little and he looked at the floor, trying to find some kind of interesting pattern in the carpet. Angelica waited until he looked back up and smiled at him then. “So, how is your hopeful future with this man?”

Harry chuckled a little and smiled then. He told her everything he had been imagining. About the house, the garden (which could be Draco’s domain, since he seemed to love it), Teddy and some relaxing nights, talking, joking and having fun.

The session ended on a note like this and Harry happily exited the room to go visit Teddy in the Hospital Wing, where Draco sat next to his bed, playing with some toys and Teddy squeaking happily. This was Harry’s place. Draco and Teddy, his family. No one would be able to take this from him.


	74. Better luck next Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and the others can finally change into Animagi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interestingly enough, I tend to put chapters with extreme highs and… lows together. So, just a warning: I’m sorry and if you feel low, check out the tags for some reassurance. (Enjoy this chapter.)

It was a stormy full moon night. Perfect for a potion to transform into an Animagus. The potions had been ready and there were several Professors ready to help. Madam Pomfrey would have been here as well, but she was still caring for Teddy, so they just brew the potions as close to the Hospital Wing as possible.

Harry would have thought that after their Polyjuice Potion accident in second year, Hermione wouldn’t want to transform, but she seemed very eager. Though, to be honest, most people looked that way. Padma and Anthony weren’t there, as they had swallowed their leaf and were too angry to even observe what was happening, while Fay and Seamus called themselves the Moral Support Group and were cheering for everyone who was about to drink their potion.

Of course, him being The Boy Who Lived, Harry was one of the first people to drink his potion. They were separated into three groups: Harry was joined by Draco and Millicent. Their Professor was McGonagall (she even fought Rabnott for getting this group, which Harry thought was hilarious), the Transfigurations Professor monitored Hermione and Ron, which left Hanna and Dean with Slughorn.

Harry took his potion first, closely followed by Hermione and Dean. They spoke their words and waited. For a while nothing happened, until he felt intense heat rushing through his body. He had never felt this kind of heat, not even when Draco had been flirting with him and he felt himself blush. No, this heat was a thousand percent more intense.

“Don’t fight it, Potter. The first time is always painful” McGonagall advised and he was breathing out slowly.

He saw his skin change fiery red, orange and yellow. What kind of an animal had this skin color?! That was absolutely not normal. He heard Dean screaming, which in the middle turned into a bird screech, but he couldn’t concentrate on this, as he saw feathers growing rather quickly and suddenly he was standing in fire.

It didn’t burn him and he realized what he was going to become. Of course. Being the freaking Golden Boy wouldn’t give him a normal animal. He had to become a special one. When he had formed this thought, he had finally transformed into a beautiful phoenix. He spread his wings and snapped at Draco’s hand who was trying to pet his head.

“Mr. Potter! Just because you are an animal, does not mean you can be violent!” the Professor said strictly.

Millicent quickly drank her potion, while Harry turned back, which went better than before. He only had to think about his actual body and suddenly, there he was.

“Did you really want to hurt me, you idiot?” Draco asked, but his eyes sparkled with pure joy. Whatever he had witnessed or had done, it had quite certainly made his day.

Harry chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I have no idea what you mean! I did not hurt you!”

“But you wanted to!”

Harry grinned and looked over to Hermione, who had difficulty transforming, while Dean was still flying on the ceiling (as a hawk) and Slughorn had a little trouble getting him to come back down and transform back into a normal person.

When Harry looked at Millicent, she was sitting on the floor as a brown cat, looking at Professor McGonagall with a tilted head. Harry grinned and bit back a ‘you look cute as a cat’-comment. Draco would have probably hexed him in front of McGonagall if he would have said that.

The Slytherin changed back rather easily as well. Harry didn’t really think much of it, McGonagall was the only Animagi in this room. He knew that Rabnott wasn’t one and Slughorn… well, he could transform himself into furniture, you didn’t really need to be a cat when you can be a couch. That meant that McGonagall could guide them all rather well.

“Good luck” Harry whispered to Draco, when he walked to his potion to take it. While Draco slowly transformed, Harry looked over to Hermione who had actually managed to become an otter and Dean had stopped flying around the room. He was back as a human being, hugging Seamus and Fay.

Hanna took the potion and Ron grabbed it as well, drinking it behind Rabnott’s back. Harry shook his head over Ron’s eager expression and turned back to Draco, who turned out to be a cat as well.

“Wait, that fast?!” Harry was surprised and laughed, when the ginger cat with interesting black pattern over its belly, threw him a murderous look.

“I don't think Draco can hide with other cats” Millicent said grinning and put her hand over Draco’s ear, which flicked a little.

Draco shook his head and turned to glare at Millicent. Both, she and Harry laughed loudly. Millicent was right: Draco was just throwing death glares around. No cat would do something like that.

The cat meowed and put his paws up to touch the girl’s hand. As if that was the magic move, Millicent swooned over him, which made Harry just a little jealous. He only wanted to rip her into pieces and keep Draco in a locked room. So yes, only slightly jealous…

Draco turned back into a human and McGonagall went on to help other students – Hermione couldn’t change back and Ron’s Golden Retriever form was chasing its own tail while Hanna had just changed into a badger and everything seemed to be too much for her.

As if Draco had heard what Harry had been thinking, he pulled him into a hug and held him tightly. Harry chuckled and felt the heat rise in his face. Not as intense as before, but being a phoenix, you looked at heat in a different way. He definitely couldn’t deny that he did not want anybody else get Draco’s attention, which was either really bad or okay…

When everyone finally changed back and Hermione looked a little green – she probably didn’t like her form – Kingsley suddenly charged into the room. Everyone was confused and McGonagall quickly led Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco outside.

“Is there anything we should know, Minister?” she asked a little surprised. 

Kingsley nodded and he looked very excited. “We found it! We found the problem. The Time Turner didn’t work, but we finally know what the problem was, so we’re working on this!”

Harry was shocked. It was suddenly very real that his father and friends were going home… Which was good and bad, as he felt like his father finally made an effort to get to know him, without trying to get to find any information about his future. But good in the sense that maybe, now could be the time for a little normality in his life.

“When do you think it’s ready?” Harry asked interested.

“Five to six weeks. We need to find some rare items, but after that everything should be good. We’re also testing it in those five to six weeks so after that, everything should be ready for James, Sirius and Remus to go home.”

He felt Draco squeeze his arm and he laughed a little. “That would be amazing!”

“Thank you very much for everything, Kingsley!” Hermione beamed, but the Minister shook his head.

“Thank me in five to six weeks, when everything worked out” he smiled and bid goodbye.

The headmistress made them all go back to Rabnott who just explained that they should be changing into their Animagi forms at least twice a day for two weeks, so that they could do it without any problems. The Ministry was also going to send someone in about two weeks so that they could be registered. No one really seemed to care for this, as the feeling that they were now Animagi was just amazing!

When they left the classroom, everyone left the castle and quickly transformed into their Animagus form. Harry followed Dean into the air, while Ron and Hanna stormed through the forest and Draco as well as Millicent climbed as many trees as they could. Hermione was a little more careful, walking to the water and transforming there. Harry flew through the trees and found Draco sitting at the floor, looking up at him in pure awe. He would have laughed if he could, instead he only let a beautiful song out of his lungs and flew some circles above the cat, until Millicent joined in and started attacking Harry, by jumping after him.

Instead of flying away, he grabbed her and flew over the lake, where he let her fall into. Draco, Ron and Hanna had dashed after them and stood at the edge of the water, looking at Millicent, who meowed angrily, before swimming back to the shore. Hermione joined her and helped her swimming back, while Dean flew circles a few meters above them.

Harry landed quickly and transformed back into a human, only to be attacked by Millicent and protected by the Golden Retriever and Draco’s cute cat form.

Millicent changed back and poured some water over him, while Harry laughed and fell onto his back. Hermione changed back as well, looked at her wet clothes and ran after Millicent into the castle, while Dean flew back over the forest and Hanna and Ron ran back there as well.

The only ones left were Harry and Draco, the latter staying in his cat form, which made Harry chuckle softly. His eyes were still grey and whirlwind like and he put one paw on top of Harry’s chest, where he suddenly jumped upon and sat onto, while looking down at Harry.

Harry grinned and chuckled again, which made Draco on his chest jump up and down. “Draco, what are you doing?!”

The cat meowed and lay down, purring softly. Harry stopped whatever he was doing and was fascinated. Draco started cleaning his paws and looked up at him again, meowing again.

“You are melting my heart in your cat form, Draco. Don’t let Teddy see you this way, he’s going to lose his shit.”

Draco meowed again and continued cleaning himself, while he purred and sometimes he licked Harry’s hand, which he had placed next to his paws, to play with him. Harry couldn’t stop smiling. Draco as a cat was the most amazing thing he could think of.

“You are the cutest cat, I’ve seen today. I mean, I liked Millicent as well” Draco hissed and Harry laughed. He held his hands up in surrender. “You need to hear me out, dragonfly! I was going to say, that I thought Millicent was cute, but you are topping her cuteness about ten thousand times.”

The cat purred again, before Draco transformed back into a human, laying on top of Harry, which made both men laugh loudly.

*

It was early in the morning, Harry was in the Hospital Wing, visiting Teddy, when Draco walked in. Harry first didn’t look at him, as there was nothing unusual in Draco walking into the Hospital Wing, especially when Harry and Teddy were involved. However, it sounded as if the Slytherin had been holding his breath and he breathed in rather shaking.

When Harry eventually looked up, the blond wizard had his eyes closed and pressed his lips into a thin line. It looked like he was having a breakdown himself. Harry got up and wanted to walk over to him, when he opened his eyes and held his hands up for him to stop walking.

Something was not right, Harry could feel it. Draco took another deep breath and started talking. “Harry I… I really tried” he stopped again and looked at the floor, clearly trying to hold his tears back. It apparently took so much, that he was visibly shaking and he pulled his clothes down to probably distract his mind.

Harry frowned. What did he try? If it was about his Animagus form, he had successfully transformed himself into not a ferret. What else could he mean? There was nothing really, where he could be this emotional when trying and failing…

“I… the Greengrass family… they don’t want to… to renounce the marriage contract” he started trembling even more, but Harry was shocked. He needed a little bit until he understood what was happening. All his hopes were suddenly destroyed. Everything they had been building, their whole life together was gone. With one sentence.

“No... No, Draco! No!” Harry shook his head. “There… There must be something we can…”

“There’s nothing left. I tried everything, Harry.”

His heart sped up. There had to be something! No matter how hopeless or whatever, he couldn’t just give up like that. Not when Draco was involved. “Please don’t do this, Draco.”

The Slytherin closed his eyes shortly and snuffled. “I don’t have a choice, calinours. The Malfoy’s don’t have that power anymore. I have to do whatever Astoria wants.” He came closer, placed his hands on Harry’s shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. “You’re everything to me! I meant it when I said that I don’t want to live without you. I don’t know what to do next, Harry, but I’m not done fighting.”

Harry felt tears streaming down his face and he cried into Draco’s shoulder. “Don’t go, please. Don’t leave me like that.”

He knew he didn’t make it easy for Draco to leave, but he didn’t want him to. He wanted him to be close and happy with him. Everything that mattered was having the Slytherin for himself.

“I can’t stay, Harry.” He placed a kiss on Harry’s temple and hugged him even tighter. Normally, Harry would have probably told the Slytherin to stop holding him so tightly, but if he had to leave him, if this was the very last time for Draco to hold him, literally everything was good. “I will change my bed with Ron, now that Zabini’s gone, so you can still have someone to help you out. And we don’t have to… to be around each other.”

“I don’t want Ron” Harry was sobbing now. He couldn’t stop. “Please, Draco. I need you. I can’t live without you!”

“I know, love. But we need to stay away from each other now.” The Slytherin kissed the top of his head, he broke away one hand from hugging Harry and wiped it over his face.

Harry clutched Draco’s sweater and refused to let go. He buried his face in his chest and put his arm around the Slytherin’s neck. He was not going to let go. Not in a thousand years. “I love you! Draco, I love you!”

This was quite certainly not the right place and time to say these words, but if this was going to be their last interaction, he should at least know how much he meant to him.

Draco held him closer and kissed his temples, his forehead and the top of his head as well. “I love you too, Harry. Life just isn’t fair.”

“Please don’t leave.”

Draco kissed him softly and Harry pulled him closer, though the Slytherin let go rather quickly. “When you get back to the dormitory, I’ll be gone.”

Harry grabbed his wrist, before he could leave and held him back quietly. The Slytherin had his back turned to him, but he could see him hanging his head. “Please, Harry. It’s hard enough as it is. Just let me go.”

He shook his head and he knew that even though Draco couldn’t see him, he knew him well enough to know what he was doing. “Do not leave me like this” he whispered but his voice had a threatening tone to it.

This made Draco turn around. He was now crying, his face wet with tears and his lips trembling. He walked closer again, brushing through Harry’s hair and placed his forehead on Harry’s. “If... if I had a word in it, I would never do this.”

“But you can have a word in it! Run away with me! Please, just us and Teddy and nobody else who could tell us what to do and who to love!” Harry knew that Draco would never accept this. He wanted to finish Hogwarts, get an amazing degree and find a job in which he could exceed. Running away, while he was on probation was also not the best idea, even if it was with him.

He tucked a few curls behind Harry’s ear, which returned to their original state almost immediately. “I love you, Harry, but I can’t. You know that, don’t you?”

He only shook his head, but this made Draco smile sadly. “I know you do, calinours.” He kissed his forehead one more time and softly pulled his wrist out of Harry’s grasp. "I love you."

Harry just wanted to say something, when the Slytherin shook his head. “Please love, don’t. We’ll get through this… somehow.”


	75. I’m not giving you the Time of Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry struggles without Draco.

It was all a dream. What happened the other day, that wasn’t real. Another nightmare he couldn’t control. Nothing of what Draco said was even remotely real! He was going to wake up and be greeted by Draco sleeping in his bed, waking up as well, asking him how he’d slept. And he was going to tell him all about this nightmare about how Astoria had refused to accept the marriage contract and how they were supposed to be separated. Draco would laugh at this and tell him that he would love him, that he was his teddy bear. And anyone who was trying to destroy this would have to fight him.

“Harry, are you okay?” he heard Hermione next to him asking.

He had his eyes closed. No light was coming through his eye lids. He wet his lips, but kept his eyes firmly shut.

“If Draco’s standing there and tells me that all of this was just a nightmare, I’ll be fine” he answered. Hermione sighed and Harry knew immediately, that it hadn’t been a dream. Draco was gone. He probably wasn’t about to come back any time soon.

When Harry opened his eyes, Ron kneeled next to his bed. “Draco told us what happened this morning. Are you okay?”

Not really able to answer, Harry shook his head. He sat up with a lot of trouble and bit his lower lip.

“Anything we can do?” Hermione asked and Harry hated to see the pity on her face. He wanted to scream at her, yell and shout, but all he could do was try and suppress a sob. Teddy stirred and Ron walked over to calm him down.

“Can you get Draco back?” Harry asked quietly and looked at his godson, knowing that Hermione would only shake her head. There was no hope for their relationship. He was going to marry Astoria. And now she even knew that her future husband was gay and had been in a relationship with a man. And she was still going to marry him. 

Hermione sat on his bed and patted his leg. “Are you going to class?”

“No.”

He had a therapy lesson and he was actually really looking forward to it. Maybe Angelica could work with him through all of his thoughts and maybe in the end he could get over Draco, find himself another man and get married and live happily ever after.

He didn’t need Draco for his personal happily ever after.

“Harry?” Ron waved a hand in front of him and got him out of his mind. “Make sure you’re actually eating something.”

“Not hungry.”

“We know, Harry” Hermione nodded and squeezed his leg. “But you need to eat. At least for Teddy, okay?”

Nodding, Harry turned to his godson and called for Kreacher. When the elf appeared, he asked for some breakfast and informed him that he would be staying in his dormitory for the day. The elf understood and promised to bring him food whenever it was time to eat something.

Hermione and Ron seemed to be okay with this and went on with their day. Harry slit from his bed and leaned the back of his head on the mattress. He grabbed his Snitch and let it fly around, while Teddy tried to catch it, laughing loudly.

The only thing it did to Harry was that a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. He needed to talk to Angelica about all of this. She could probably tell him what he should do and how he could move forward from all of this.

Draco was the perfect man. He knew Harry inside out, he knew what he had to do when Harry was feeling low. He knew how to react when he had a bad nightmare. His calm voice, talking French was everything Harry needed. What now? Was he just supposed to find himself some guy from France so that he could have about the same reaction? That was just not the same…

The day dragged on forever, until Harry was finally in Angelica’s office, Teddy roaming around and playing with his plush Snitch or trying to catch the real thing. Both the adults had been quiet and Harry was sure that Angelica knew exactly what had happened yesterday, even though Draco only had a session on Fridays.

Finally, she spoke up. “So, usually, I don’t talk about what other people told me, but Draco wrote a letter last night. It seemed to be affecting you as well. Namely, that he has to ignore all the relationships, since Astoria Greengrass has decided to keep marrying him.”

Harry nodded and exhaled slowly.

“How are you doing with this information, Harry?” she asked carefully. He shook his head and bit his lower lip.

He needed about five minutes, until he felt ready to talk without crying immediately. “Not really good. He changed his bed with Ron and I… I just can’t get over this. I can’t get over him. How am I supposed to forget him?”

Angelica smiled softly. Harry noticed a little sadness in her eyes. “There’s not really a way to get over someone, Harry. But with time, it will stop hurting. He was your first love, so I understand that…”

“He wasn’t the first. I was with Cho and Ginny…”

“Did they make you feel what Draco made you feel?” his Mind Healer asked and smiled again. Harry couldn’t answer, so he only shook his head. Draco was the only one who had made him feel safe and home and just really loved. How was he supposed to find someone just like that?!

Angelica talked with him about all kinds of things after that. It mostly had to do with how to get over a boyfriend or girlfriend. She made him promise her to refocus on himself, what he liked to do and what he hated.

Though, if he had to be honest, he didn’t know. No one really ever asked him what he liked and let him test different things. Since he was the hero, he had to do what everyone told him to do. Die for everyone else. Save the day. There wasn’t really time to think about what he liked and what not.

“Harry” Angelica stopped him, before the session was really over. Apparently there was something else she needed to tell him, before he left. “Listen, all heartache is a grieving process. You’re losing someone and it’s different for everyone. Love is an emotion we can’t really put in a box. You’re not going to be over him tomorrow and he won’t be as well. But give it time and maybe one day you feel ready to move on.”

Harry nodded, not really willing to be able to move on. He opened the door, when Angelica stopped him once again. “For the next few weeks I would like to see you one additional time during the week. Any preferences?”

“During lessons is okay, I’m not going to school for a few days.”

They settled on Wednesday during first period and Harry grabbed Teddy and walked out the door. He was not ready for what was going on outside.

Draco sat at the usual spot, clearly biting his nails, shaking slightly. Harry stopped dead in his tracks and simply stared at the Slytherin. He said, they shouldn’t see each other. He even changed rooms with Ron. And now he was sitting there, pretending that everything was fine…

Well, no. Nothing was fine and you could see it if you looked closely. But he had no right sitting there, waiting for Harry to finish his therapy session. He turned back to the open door and closed his eyes for a second.

It was what was best for them. “Angelica” he said when he was back in the office. “Could we maybe change all the times and dated for during school? I don’t think I want to be seen here.”

His Mind Healer nodded and they changed the times for fifth period. That way no one should be able to see him. Before Harry could walk out the door, Angelica spoke up. “He’s sitting on the floor outside, isn’t he?”

Harry nodded a little scared and surprised that she actually found out about that.

“Would you like me to get rid of him?”

No. No, he definitely didn’t want her to get rid of him. He loved him. He needed to tell him that. He wanted to jump into his arms, kiss him senseless and hug him so tightly that they both couldn’t breathe anymore, ...

“Yes, please.”

She nodded and was gone the next second. Harry leaned at the wall and closed his eyes. Teddy giggled a little and Harry smiled at him. He wished he could be this happy. But his beautiful little man didn’t have relationship problems with his secret boyfriend who was supposed to marry someone else because of a stupid ancient pureblood law. His little boy could just be happy, play with a Snitch, laugh at literally nothing and enjoy his godfather so close.

Harry wanted to see Sirius as well and his father. And his other father figure. Telling him what to do. Maybe even helping him through this. Maybe they could help him right now…

When Angelica came back, she was still wearing this sad smile and she nodded at him to probably tell him that the coast was clear. He hurried through the halls right to his father’s and friend’s dormitory. He knocked and not a second later, Sirius opened the door. He stepped back and let him inside without a word.

Remus was sleeping in his bed, still a little tired from his werewolf adventures. James and Sirius were sitting on another bed and when Harry simply sat on the floor, they followed his example. Sirius started playing with Teddy, while Harry tried not to cry but his father’s concerned look didn’t help much.

“I can’t deal with this” Harry said quietly, trying hard not to cry.

James nodded. “It’s okay to hurt, Harry. You know sometimes things have to… to fall apart. Maybe something better can be born out of this.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t need better things. I just…” He stared at Teddy, who giggled at Sirius, when he created fake snow that fell on top of the toddler.

“I want Draco back” Harry whispered quietly.

James scooted over next to him and nodded again. “Maybe you need to think of different things. Where you happy before this relationship?”

Harry laughed, though his laugh wasn’t a happy one. “You really want to ask someone who died for the entire Wizarding World, who fought Voldemort and who lost all of his closest people, if he was happy?”

His father seemed to realize his mistake and shook his head. “Sorry about that, Harry. Sometimes I forget that you’re not a normal man.”

“Draco was the one who made me happy. He… He showed me that I could be happy, that I was allowed to have such an emotion.”

He leaned his head against the mattress again and closed his eyes. Draco was all he needed and now he had to get over him. Over the love of his life! Because of some stupid piece of paper and magic that can’t be broken.

They should just run away when Draco wasn’t being monitored. That way, they could run to France or Australia, start new lives, new identities and no one would ever find them and they could live happily ever after. Forever.

He stayed with his father and friends for all the evening and once the night started, he snuck back into his own room placing a locking charm on the door that wouldn’t allow Draco to enter. If he had to live without the Slytherin, he shouldn’t be able to see him ever again. Actually, the best way to do that would be to leave Hogwarts…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again; check out the Tags if you need ro reassure yourself.


	76. Having a hard Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's Day is arriving, but Harry can't cope.

The days were just dismal and depressing. Harry woke up, mostly awoken by Ron’s snoring, cleaned and fed Teddy and stayed in his room, until the lessons started. He then took his godson for a stroll around Hogwarts and usually towards the lake, where Teddy sometimes played in the snow or dumped all sort of things in the water. He seemed to have the time of his life. All while Harry laid on the ground, looking at him, but his mind traveling to all kinds of dark places… especially with Valentine’s Day arriving.

He had pushed Hermione and Ron away, not really in the mood of hearing that Draco’s performance had declined heavily and that most of the time he sat there, staring blankly at the parchment in front of him or out the window.

Not that Harry was feeling any better, he had to admit that himself. His long walks with his godson had long ago taken on a routine and given him enough time to think. Too much time, if he was honest.

A day ago, Ron had caught him walking to his and Draco’s Potion room after a particularly bad nightmare and asking what he was doing, Harry had not answered. How could he honestly say that he was brewing a potion to feel as if he was loved again? Well, the feeling was still there, Draco had told him he loved him when they had to separate, but every time he saw Hermione and Ron together it broke his heart. That little shitty emotional thing inside his body was thrumming _Draco, Draco, Draco_ and there was no way out.

Why couldn’t they have waited for the Greengrass family to accept the marriage refusal and get together then instead of immediately?! That way, both their hearts could have been saved from this drama.

Once again, Harry snuck out of the eighth year Common Room – Teddy sleeping in his room with Ron - and he walked down, hiding under his Invisibility Cloak towards the dungeons. There, he opened the door and walked in, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply.

In his little hide out, he could smell Draco so closely. All thanks to the Amortentia he had been brewing. Yes, it was very bad and not really what normal people should be doing, but Harry wasn’t normal and he had realized that smelling this potion, smelling Draco’s scent, was the only thing that helped him through nightmares.

The nightmares that had been back – worse than ever – since the other man had gone away. Most of the nights, he was dreaming of Draco actually being dead, next to Teddy and Hermione and Ron. Sometimes he was attending the blond wizard’s wedding with Astoria and on other nights, Draco forgot he even existed. Nightmares about the war had long gone, but Harry had to admit that he wanted them back. Anything was better, literally anything, than having so stay at the back in a black tux and watching Draco marrying Astoria with a huge smile on both their faces. And when Harry wanted to talk to Draco, he never even remembered him. Usually, he awoke from this nightmares sweating and silently crying. He would always get up, have a shower and sneak into the dungeons for a while, breathing in the love potion’s scent and calming down, imagining Draco close by.

This time, however, he only needed to check the potion. If it wasn’t working anymore, he had to throw it out. Luckily, everything was fine and after a few moments, where Harry dreamt of Draco standing right in front of him, smiling and winking at him, he left the room again to roam the castle.

He hadn’t done this in a while, but restless nights seemed to be back like old friends. When he walked up the stairs next to the Great Hall, he recognized another sleepless soul. It was none other than Draco himself, sitting in their spot in front of the golden plates with all the fallen fighters. Harry remembered how they had been sitting there before the eighth year had gotten a tower together.

Pondering over the possibility to be close to Draco once again, he waited at the top of the stairs, just staring. It was a really bad idea to talk to him right now. They were both sleepless and heartbroken and who knew where this would be heading. Draco needed to get some space and so, Harry snuck quietly to the other stairs in the opposite side.

“You should really learn to walk quieter if you keep hiding under the cloak, Harry.”

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face Draco, who looked at the names, before turning his gaze towards where he supposed Harry was standing. He wasn’t off. 

Inside, Harry was panicking. He couldn’t talk to Draco. He just couldn’t. If he started talking to him… He felt a silent tear roll down his cheek. Draco was still looking, though with every second that Harry wasn’t reacting, his face fell more and more until he placed his head back on his bent knees.

That was enough for Harry to take off his cloak and looking at the love of his life. Draco jumped up and after a second of staring at each other; both men took flight into different directions, unable to even say one word. Draco hadn’t looked good: red eyes, even paler than before and he even looked skinnier. Harry was hoping that Draco ate enough, though he himself wasn’t even eating a lot. The Slytherin’s hair looked uncared for and his clothes weren’t matching. These two things were the real indicators that Draco wasn’t doing so well.

Harry didn’t know why Draco would flee but for him, it was just too much. For him, he was fleeing because he was scared. Scared to fall even deeper into the heartbreak land and get lost there. He had a son now; he had to stay strong, at least on the surface.

Once morning came around (Valentine’s Day to be exact), Harry sat on his bed, reading through an essay for Potion, as well as one for Transfiguration. Ron had offered to bring his essays to class with him. However, there was an expert coming from the Ministry, to check up on everyone’s Animagi form and Harry had to go to Transfiguration. He did accept the offer for his Potion’s essay, though.

He was not looking forward of being in the same classroom as Draco Malfoy. Not after they had met during the night and fled into the other direction. Now, there was no escape.

Luckily for him, Hermione grabbed his arm once they entered the classroom and made him sit down next to her, while Ron grabbed the empty seat next to Draco. They were talking for a second, until Draco turned around and looked at Harry.

They stayed like this for a while, before Harry averted his gaze and stared at the parchment in front of him.

“Hey, Harry” Hermione said quietly. “I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “That’s good for you. I don’t think my life can go on right now.”

“It’ll pass.”

Just then, the expert was walking into the room. He was an old, white haired wizard with an almost powerful expression. He explained that he was going to examine everyone’s Animagi form and register them. Once they had been examined, they were free to leave. Even Rabnott agreed to this.

And so they started with Hanna, apparently they were doing it alphabetically. This meant that after Hanna, Millicent and Hermione entered the room before all the boys. Once all the girls were gone, Draco got up, turned to face Harry for a second, but walked into the room with the expert, while Harry was happy that nothing happened.

“What was that all about?” Dean asked frowning.

Harry rubbed his temples and sighed. He remembered why he didn’t want to be around people. They just wanted to know everything about him.

“Just ignore what happened” Ron told Dean and rolled his eyes.

As it turned out, Dean was definitely not going to do anything of what Ron suggested. He turned towards Harry, grinning. “Rumors say you guys are a pair! You know, in a romantic relationship!”

Harry narrowed his eyes, trying to undermine how much it hurt him to hear this. “Well, don’t worry. Those rumors are wrong.”

A few weeks before they were true, but not now…

When Malfoy came back, Harry got up without looking at the blond wizard and he followed the expert into Rabnott’s office, where he without any problems transformed into a phoenix. The expert seemed very surprised, though he hid it rather well after the initial shock. The old man examined everything on his phoenix body and after some notes, he told him to transform back and let him go. Luckily, Draco was long gone in the classroom and Harry decided to keep Ron company so he didn’t need to wait alone.

“Hey, Harry” Ron greeted him smiling a little.

Harry nodded and sat down next to his friend. He hadn’t talked to any of them for a while. Hermione and Ron kept trying to make him talk about his feelings and everything, but they didn’t seem to realize that he wasn’t ready.

Or at least ready for them to know everything. Angelica knew everything. He was really happy to be able to see her three times a week. And then there were his father and friends. James, Sirius and Remus were helping so much. He talked with them for hours on end and even though they lacked the life lessons they had learnt later in life, they were very helpful. Whenever Harry thought he was about to give up, they were there, talking to him, calming him down. It was just like Draco had done. Minus the relationship part. And Draco was also a little better at this whole thing, but for Harry having his past right here was a good thing. It was probably the first time that he was really happy they had traveled in the future...

Maybe a few months ago, he would have tried everything to get Draco back, but the Slytherin had said it himself: He had tried everything. There was nothing left. Astoria was in power and she was not going to back down.

Ron said something which brought him out of his dream rather quickly. When Harry looked up, his friend smiled weakly and repeated what he had said before, no questions asked.

“If you want, I can try and find out how Draco’s doing…”

Harry shook his head. “No thanks. I met him last night when I couldn’t sleep.”

“Harry!” Ron called out and opened his eyes in shock.

“Don’t worry. Nothing happened. We stared at each other and fled the scene of the crime.”

His friend shook his head. “Unbelievable. Did you not talk to each other?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “He told me to be quieter when walking around hiding under my Invisibility Cloak. I took it off and as I said we stared at each other, before running away.”

Ron seemingly couldn’t believe what he had just said, as he shook his head. Before he could say anything, Dean came back and the expert wanted to see Ron transform into his dog form.

Sadly, this left Harry with Dean, who was joking and theorizing about why he wasn’t required to visit any classes anymore. Harry had rolled his eyes and mentioned something about Teddy, before walking away towards the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey was playing with him.

On his way, he saw Draco sitting at his usual spot when he had visited Angelica. He bit his lower lip and silently walked by his former boyfriend. However, it only made things more awkward when Draco raised his eyes and they passed without a word spoken.

Harry only dared to breathe inside the fake security of the Hospital Wing. Teddy was just playing with his plush Snitch, when Madam Pomfrey walked in and saw Harry.

“Afternoon, Potter. Is Teddy ready to go?” she asked smiling at him. Harry nodded quietly and grabbed his godson. Before he could leave, however, the mediwitch added something else. “I hope you don’t mind that Draco Malfoy stayed with Teddy for a while.”

Harry shook his head and smiled at the squeaking boy, whose eyes lit up suddenly. “Dae-co!” he yelled and jumped up and down, in Harry’s arms.

He had just had enough concentration, to walk out of the Infirmary without losing everything. Draco was also not sitting at the end of the hallway anymore, and even though Teddy kept repeating Draco’s name and Harry felt like it was ripping his heart into pieces every time, they made it up to his dormitory rather quickly. Harry locked the door and played with Teddy for a while, hoping it would distract him from calling for Draco. Also, he hoped it would distract him from remembering that today was Valentine’s Day…


	77. What can be done in one Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny realises that something is off with Harry and goes to investigate, while she forms a plan.

Ginny hadn’t seen Harry in quite some time. Two weeks if she had to be honest. Nobody was to blame for this; she had been quite distracted by her training to become a professional Quidditch player. But she suddenly had this urge to find Harry and have a talk with him. About nothing in particular. Weirdly enough, she saw a figure sitting on the ground, close to the Forbidden Forest, feeding a hippogriff and a few Thestrals. There was a smaller shadow, which Ginny thought might have been Teddy, though she was confused why Harry would bring him to watch such dangerous creatures.

She walked closer and as she had only a few feet to go, she stopped. Harry had been crying. His eyes were bloodshot and he tore a paper into small pieces, staring into nothing. Not even a smiling and laughing Teddy could bring him out of his miserable state. This worried Ginny, as she had never seen Harry's godson having no power over him.

She walked closer, picked up Teddy and sat down next to him. She clearly startled him, as he jumped a little. He wiped over his face with the back of his hand and smiled at her.

“Hi Gin, how’s the training going?” he smiled. Yes, he was smiling, but it was more of a factitious smile.

“Harry, what’s going on?” She was not going to talk about her training and things like that to distract him from whatever he was going through when she didn’t even know what happened.

He sighed and turned back to his parchment. Ginny noticed quickly that it had letters on it. Why would he tear apart an actual letter? She had never seen him do something like that.

They stayed quiet, watching the Thestrals fighting over the last bloody steak, before Harry finally decided to speak up.

“He’s not allowed to have another relationship. We’re not together anymore and Astoria’s determined to marry him. He can’t go against the marriage contract.”

“So he called things off between you two?” Ginny asked and as she looked at him, she saw the pain, even his broken heart. “Is there nothing we can do to get him back?”

Harry shook his head, visibly unable to speak. He snuffled and cleared his throat. “Reparo” he cast over the parchment and it changed into an unbroken one immediately. Ginny wasn’t sure if she should be looking, but Harry simply gave it to her.

It was a letter from Draco. Reading through it, she felt herself tear up. He explained everything, how he had tried to talk to Astoria about it, how he tried to convince the head of the family that he couldn’t marry her. He explained that the marriage contract was a normal one and that there were no loopholes. Apparently, he had even told Astoria that he was gay and in another relationship but she had told him to break it off, since they were getting married as soon as she graduated from Hogwarts.

And he ended his letter with the sentence: _I’ll always love you, Harry. It’s just not meant to be. I’m sorry, calinours. Maybe in another lifetime._

By the end, even Ginny had to blink faster, to keep her tears inside. She exhaled slowly and gave it back to Harry, who tore it into tiny pieces again.

“I’ve been sitting here for the entire day, destroying this letter, repairing it, reading it again and again and destroying it once more” Harry admitted and she had to admit in her head, that it looked just like that.

“So, what now?” she asked slowly.

Harry carefully tore the word _always_ out of the letter and let everything else fall down. While staring at it, he answered her question. “I don’t know, Gin. I have to… to find something else in my life. Maybe I’ll drop out of Hogwarts, build a home for orphans and abused children, where they can grow up save and be happy.”

Ginny placed her hand on his knee. “Harry, you can do this after Hogwarts as well!”

“I don’t think I can stay here, Gin. Everywhere I go, I’m reminded of Draco.”

As if to show this point, Teddy smiled broadly. “Dae-co!”

She opened her eyes in shock and looked over to Harry, whose heart apparently shattered into a thousand pieces at once. He rubbed his temples hard and hid his eyes behind his hands.

Ginny couldn’t bear seeing him like that. She put an arm around him and pulled him into a half hug. He was crying quietly. She knew immediately, that she had to do something. Harry was now her brother and family stood together – well, she would have done something regardless of family.

Once Harry had calmed down, she took Teddy and wanted to bring him to Hermione and Ron or the marauders, who seemed to love him as well. Harry was going to stay outside for a few minutes, or hours more likely.

In the entrance hall, she almost fell over another person, hiding in the shadows. Draco stood behind the open door, looking outside to where Harry was sitting.

“Hey Ginny. How’s he doing?” he asked, trying to hide his emotions. It didn’t work as well as it had a few years or even months ago. Maybe she had also started to get to know him better so that the subtle things were suddenly very obvious.

She would have loved for Draco to be the bad guy, so she could scream at someone, but he was as much a victim of what was happening to them as Harry was.

“Not well, Draco” she sighed and looked at him clearer.

“Dae-co!” Teddy said and smiled at him broadly.

Draco chuckled softly but sadly and stroked Teddy’s hair. “Hi little man, you seem to be as fine as ever!”

Ginny saw that he was paler than before, he also looked skinnier. “Are you eating enough, Draco? You don’t look all that well.”

He sighed and leaned against the door, shaking his head. “I can’t get over him. I don’t know how. I literally have no idea how.” He looked past Ginny towards where Harry was sitting, staring at nothing.

“You two are quite the pair” she sighed. She had to try something. “I tell you what: Please be present for all the meals, it might help my cause.”

“Your cause?”

“Of bringing you two back together, idiot” she smiled and winked at him.

Draco shook his head. “I don’t think you can achieve that, Ginny. Some things just can’t be fixed with a simple magic spell.” He looked outside again and bit his lower lip. “Why did I have to fall for the bloody Savior?!”

“Don’t give up just yet, Draco” Ginny reaffirmed him.

The Slytherin looked just as bad as Harry did. She needed to do something to get these two back together, in fact, she had the perfect idea. “Can you play with Teddy for a while? I doubt Harry’s got anything against it.”

Draco sighed, but he accepted an overjoyed Teddy and he gained back a little color in his face. They walked towards the Room of Requirement and Ginny decided to look for the Slytherin girl that was the cause of all this sadness and heartbreak.

She found Astoria in the Slytherin Common Room, once she had followed the two boys again, which she had kidnapped before Christmas. She had threatened to let them disappear again if they didn’t give her the password. Additionally, she also told them that she would let them change the password once she was outside again and that she wouldn’t follow them ever again after that. Their reaction was exactly what she had wanted.

So now, she was in the Slytherin Common Room, surrounded by Snakes and she looked at Astoria in a superior way, which she hoped would do the trick to get them talking right now. Her dark brown hair was in a high pony tail and her clean clothes immediately gave her away (if you knew a little about her).

“Astoria Greengrass” Ginny said smiling, hoping not to scare her away. “I think we need to talk.”

The Slytherin girl shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think so. You’d just try and kidnap me if I was talking to you alone.”

“I don’t abduct fellow women” Ginny answered and took a little pride in the Snake men wincing slightly. Astoria had followed her look and smiled slightly. Apparently, the only thing she needed was to make the boys wince and they were in business…

They walked into Astoria’s dormitory and she put up some silencing spells. Without saying anything, she raised an eyebrow, waiting for Ginny to explain herself.

“I would like to ask you what you know about Draco’s situation.”

Astoria frowned. “His situation? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ginny sighed. Maybe this girl just thought that everything was okay or something like that. “Do you know that he was chased out of his house? That he’s…”

“Not you as well!” Astoria sighed. “Listen, I’ve had so many people telling me that Draco Malfoy’s gay that I can’t count them all. Some things are just rumors. All you have to do is ignore them.” She shrugged her shoulders.

Ginny clenched her teeth, but realized rather quickly that she couldn’t convince the Slytherin like that. Maybe she needed visual evidence. “What if I’d prove it to you?”

Astoria raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulder. “I don’t think I’d believe you, but go ahead.”

“Very well, meet me and Luna at the Ravenclaw table at dinner tonight. I’ll show you then!”

With that she walked out of the Slytherin Common Room, looking for Hermione and Ron, who could probably convince Harry to go down to the Great Hall and eat dinner there. In front of the eighth year Common Room, she rolled her eyes. Why couldn’t she just walk in there?!

Before she could think of another way to get to Hermione and Ron, the door opened and Neville walked out. “Oh, hey Ginny, how are you?”

She smiled at the Gryffindor and shrugged her shoulders. “A little busy. You?”

Neville grinned. “Same old, same old. Can I help you with something?”

“Yes, are Hermione and Ron in there?”

Neville nodded and held the door open, so she could walk inside. She had never been inside the eighth year Common Room, but she had other things to do, so she couldn't look around for ever. On the balcony, she looked down and saw Harry’s best friends sitting by the fire, playing with Teddy. Apparently, Draco had given him away.

She sprinted down the stairs and sat down next to Ron, who jumped, clearly not expecting anyone. “Merlin’s beard! What are you doing here?!”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “I’m on a mission. Can you convince Harry to eat in the Great Hall tonight?”

Hermione looked sad and Ron sighed. “No” her brother answered. “We tried yesterday and he locked his door and stayed there the entirety of the afternoon and evening. I think this is really hurting him.”

“The only people he’s really talking to are his father and friends. They seem to be able to get through to him. Maybe you can try them” Hermione suggested and Ginny nodded. Hermione pointed to a door, Ginny hadn’t seen before and she got up.

“Hey, Ginny” Ron called after her. “What exactly is your mission?”

Smiling, she turned around. “Getting those two idiots back together. And I’m very confident, to say the least. That is, if I manage to get both of them to the Great Hall for dinner.”

She saw the hopeful but also slightly scared look between Hermione and Ron and walked down the stairs, not really sure which door she should open. Until she stood in front of the door that said 'Marauder’s Area'.

“Very subtle” she grinned and knocked.

The door was opened immediately by Sirius and he frowned when he saw Ginny. “Hey… Is everything okay with Harry?”

“Who is it?” Remus called from the inside, Sirius opened the door wide and let Ginny enter their room. It looked like a normal dormitory and she wasn’t really sure what she had expected. Maybe some old things from ‘75 or something, though she remembered that they traveled with nothing but a broken Time Turner.

“So?” James inquired and frowned a little worried.

Ginny smiled. “Well, Hermione and Ron told me that you guys are the only ones that could perhaps influence Harry to do something he wouldn’t like to do.”

James and Remus immediately frowned and Ginny realized how protective they were over Harry, which warmed her heart. Sirius was protective as well, though he seemed to want more information about what she wanted them to do.

“What should he do then?” he asked.

“Eat in the Great Hall, possibly when everyone else is eating there as well” she explained.

James sighed. “Which would include a certain wizard who shall remain nameless?”

Ginny nodded and she saw how all three were about to say No, when she explained why she needed Harry to eat there. “Listen, I’m trying to get these two back together. Draco already agreed to eat in the Great Hall and I invited Astoria Greengrass to eat with me and Luna. I need Harry there as well for it to work out in our favor!”

Remus was thinking and he suddenly seemed to realize something. “You want to show Astoria, that they’re hurting, when they look at each other. That Draco’s actually gay and in love with Harry?”

James and Sirius jumped up quickly. “Is that your plan?”

Ginny nodded a little hurt that some people found out about her plan, but hopeful that they would support it. Remus smiled suddenly. “I’m in. Let’s convince Harry to eat in the Great Hall, so he can be happy again!”

“Yes!” Sirius shouted and threw a book through the room, which collided with the wall and fell into pieces of paper.

Ginny laughed and shook her head. She turned to face James, who was still frowning. She had a feeling that it was harder to convince his father to be helping them.

“What if your little stunt doesn’t work out? He’s already incredibly hurt. Seeing Draco might kill him. He might fall to pieces or break down right there in front of everybody. What do you do then?”

She didn’t want to think about it. He was right. What would happen if seeing Draco would make him lose it? Even the letter the Slytherin had sent him had been torn about a hundred time and Harry couldn’t seem to get over it. She could do some serious damage with that.

“We just need to try it. I know we can do this. I know that in the end everything will be okay. Draco and Harry, they just belong together, they’re lost without each other. I haven’t seen Harry in classes for weeks, have you seen him go there?”

James shook his head. “He told us he can’t be around Draco, because he’s afraid of what would happen then. But he does do all the homework and stuff like that.”

“That’s not the problem” Ginny said and smiled sadly. “I just want him to be happy and feel normal again. So, are you in, James?”

Harry’s father sighed and rubbed his temples. “I really don’t want to be part of this” he said biting his lip. Ginny knew, he had internal fights, but she also knew she couldn’t help him. He needed to think about this and choose on his own. And yes, there was a huge disaster waiting for them, if Harry couldn’t stay in a room with Draco. But maybe… maybe, they could do this. Maybe.

“If you tell Harry afterwards that it was your idea, I’ll do it” James said finally. “Even if everything goes well. I don’t want to be part of the idea committee.”

Ginny smiled and nodded. “I’ll do that. You just convince Harry to go eat in the Great Hall and everything will turn around eventually.”


	78. Time is different for everyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's dinner time at the Great Hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Resolving this situation, I needed help from quite a few people, so now we need a few different POVs. Otherwise I’d be stuck at this dinner scene for about ten chapters (and I do kinda want to move on and see those two idiots happy and in love again. I do believe you guys feel the same, so here it goes). Have fun!

It had been a mistake. Agreeing to dinner in the Great Hall, where _everyone_ and one person could be watching him. That was a mistake. He would rather sit in his room, playing with Teddy and thinking about how life was so fucked up that it ignored two people who had honest feelings for each other.

And then there was this other problem; Draco sitting on the Hufflepuff table, next to Neville and Hanna. He kept looking over to Harry, trying to catch his eye, but he couldn’t look back. It was hard enough to be around people; Draco was on an entirely different level. He was the love of his life. Nobody else could fill the emptiness this stupid Slytherin had left behind when he ripped out Harry’s heart and told him, Astoria was going to make him suffer.

Uninterested in anything, Harry kept toying with his food, feeding Teddy whenever he wanted something to eat and staring at his plate.

He should have known that he couldn’t ignore Draco for long. There was an unspoken, deep and beautiful connection between the two of them. He had felt the Slytherin staring at him for the longest time and, biting his lip, he raised his head and found Draco’s eyes.

The blond wizard seemed surprised to suddenly have his attention and shot him a soft smile after the first few scared looks. Harry didn’t know how to react. Smiling back? What was even the point. He could… He could… well, what? There was nothing, he could do that would make him feel better.

He quickly pressed his lips together and paid attention to his godson who was trying to get something to eat. Remus was however, already feeding him something and Harry was free again, trying to ignore the rising feeling of a breakdown.

That was not going to happen. He was not going to have another breakdown _in the middle of the Great Hall_ with everyone looking at him. So he concentrated on his food, and while no one was looking, he dug his nails into his arm, as a way to ground himself, though the thought of Draco repeatedly stopping him from hurting himself, wasn’t really helping at all.

“You really should eat something, Harry.”

James sounded like his father… which he was. Normally, he could have seen the joke there, but he couldn’t even attempt a smile. His father’s concerned look also didn’t make it better. It actually made it worse.

“I think Teddy needs his diaper changed” he said, getting up and grabbing Teddy as well as a banana, as an apology for cutting his son’s food time short. He felt himself shivering softly. That wasn’t going to work out. How was he supposed to go through something like this alone?!

He hurried into the bathroom that he knew was empty right now. He placed Teddy on the ground and gave him his banana, which he ate happily, while Harry started crying and sobbing and leaned on the sink and tried to somehow calm himself. Nothing was working and he closed his eyes, scared and empty, accepting that his life had hit a new low and that nothing was going to get him out of this one.

*

Draco was surprised. He was surprised to see him eating in the Great Hall. He was surprised to see him surrounded by his father and friends and not Hermione, Ron or Ginny and anybody else. Neville had told him that Harry had pushed them all away, not far enough so they would stop being friends, but enough to keep to himself. He only talked to his father and friends and took long walks with Teddy. That last thing he knew; he knew when and where to sit so that he could look outside the window and see Harry and Teddy walking the school grounds and playing.

After he had told Harry that they couldn’t be together anymore, he had reached out to other purebloods and asked them how they did it with their arranged marriages. They hadn’t been helpful, though.

Most modern wizards had refrained from telling their children who to marry. Which meant that Hanna Abbott, Sullivan Fawley (a former Hogwarts student), Ernie Macmillan, Felix Rosier (another former Slytherin Prefect), Neville Longbottom and of course all the Weasley’s couldn’t help him. There were probably other people (and he hadn’t heard from Pansy, whatever that meant), but he didn’t know many more of them. He also didn’t want to talk to Daphne Greengrass… it was quite obvious why he didn’t want to.

The four unexpected, helpful purebloods were Millicent, Marcus Flint, Theodore Nott and of course Gregory Goyle. In fact, all of them were supposed to marry someone they didn’t choose. Draco had to admit that Millicent wasn’t really helpful, as she was head over heels into her mystery man, who came from France. Theodore was also pretty happy with the choice of his parents. They did, however, become closer over the course of several long late night floo calls (with a lot of crying and needing to talk about feelings) and Draco had started to consider him a very close friend. Marcus and Gregory also couldn’t give him anything useful, as they themselves had been digging through paperwork to undo their marriages – unsuccessfully. Great odds for Draco.

Having Harry so close again was too much. He couldn’t stop staring at him, Over time, he had learnt to read his body language and when Harry finally looked up and into his eyes, he knew something was about to happen. 

He wasn’t eating and Remus wasn’t giving him the distraction he’d clearly needed. Draco was sure that even though Teddy could make everyone smile, right now, Harry was fighting with himself and not even his godson could help him through.

 _Maybe I could be the one helping him through that_ , he though and bit his lower lip. He really shouldn’t be that one. There was another one going to be there and maybe Harry could be as happy as he deserved to be. Without him.

Harry had left the room, when Draco got up. He needed to be the one. He needed to help Harry though one last breakdown. He had a feeling that he couldn’t do this alone right now.

Before he could leave the Great Hall, Astoria stood in front of him. “Draco, we need to talk.”

“Not now” he said determined and walked around her and out of the Great Hall. Where would Harry go? Probably to a room where he knew no one was going to be in right now, where he could pretend that he was just… cleaning himself up.

The bathroom.

Draco ran upstairs and a terrible thought led him to the bathroom where they had their duel so many years ago.

When he pushed the door open, he could hear Harry sobbing and it broke his heart. He needed to do something about it. Right now.

*

James looked after Harry and knew he made a mistake by convincing him to eat in the Great Hall. Yes, there was a chance that Draco and Harry could somehow magically end up together again, but this chance was extremely thin. It was as if one chess player had a king and a peasant left, but still decided to fight. The odds were incredibly bad, maybe even not existing.

Sirius and Remus hadn’t thought about that; they were just happy to have some quality time with Harry and Teddy, which would have worked better in the comfort of their room, but no one seemed to be willing to accept this.

He looked over to the Ravenclaw table, where Ginny was vehemently discussing something with Luna and some other students. He hoped that the Gryffindor had an idea of what she was doing. If she just wanted this as an interesting show, he was going to kill her.

Harry had been too fragile. Accepting their idea after two pleas should have been an indicator, instead, James actually looked forward to seeing Draco and Harry both together. Maybe in his head, he still saw them together as they were on Christmas. Happy and ready to take on the world. They would have made an amazing pair and father to Teddy. He would have definitely grown up in a family where love was the rule number one.

And now? Harry was gone, Teddy as well and as Draco wanted to leave the room, a girl stopped his path and decided to talk to him. He wanted to kill her as well right now. Actually, if he managed to kill everyone in this room, he could have finally had the peace and quiet he deserved. Obviously… he wasn’t going to act on his fantasy.

When he concentrated on Draco again, He turned around and walked out. James hoped that he was going to look for Harry, find him and make up with him. He wanted them to live happily ever after. They both deserved this. They had been through so much (together and separately). It was time they got what they deserved.

He nudged Sirius and Remus out of the Great Hall and once they were outside, they checked the map, they had stolen from Harry a few days ago and found Draco just in front of a bathroom, in which two names were shining brightly. They hurried away to be there and see them reuniting.

*

Holy shit! Her plan was working! Astoria had sat down in front of them, quite suspiciously, but once Ginny explained that they were here to observe Draco Malfoy, she grinned and turned to face him. Ginny herself looked at the Slytherin and saw him pining over Harry. His looks couldn’t have been more obvious; it looked as if the blond wizard couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

After some confusion, where Astoria had thought that Draco was pining for a fourth year, which Ginny had vehemently disagreed with, she seemed to realize that the Slytherin was looking at the Harry Potter that way.

Oh, and her facial expression had been amazing! Realization dawned on Astoria and she didn’t know where to look. In the end, she shot Ginny a confused look.

“It’s Harry Potter?!” she asked, probably to reaffirm.

Ginny nodded. “When Mrs. Malfoy wrote Draco that she wanted to try and convince your parents to drop the contract, they started dating and developed a deep relationship. Those two are made for each other.”

“I don’t understand” Astoria frowned and looked at Draco, who didn’t even avert his eyes, when he was stuffing something to eat into his mouth. “Why didn’t he just tell me he was gay?! I just thought he tried to get out of the contract, because…” she trailed off and Ginny wasn’t sure if she was allowed to say something. It didn’t matter, as in the next second, Astoria was headed towards the door, where she stopped Draco.

Ginny jumped up and ran towards the door and Astoria. “Oh shit.”

They didn’t need to say anything. Both were curious enough as to what was happening and they snuck after the Slytherin. When they saw him enter a bathroom, Astoria was a little disappointed, but Ginny had heard something that sounded a little like a sob. She snuck closer and peered inside, before she winked Astoria closer.

It wasn’t nice to spy on people, but Ginny was sure that Harry would forgive her for this. If she could fix their relationship by showing Astoria what was going on behind the curtains, maybe she would believe that Draco and Harry were actually supposed to be together.

They slipped inside and hid behind a statue, looking at how Draco softly approached Harry. “Hey, calinours.”

Harry startled and froze. Ginny knew that he was probably thinking whether or not he should turn around and tell Draco to go away or if he should clean his face and pretend everything was okay. However, instead of acting on anything, he just stood there.

The Slytherin walked closer very slowly. Then, Ginny heard him speaking French, but she couldn’t really understand what he was saying. There was also the sound of the door creaking open that distracted her. Astoria on the other hand seemed to be entranced with what he was saying.

“Mon bel homme fort, ça va bien se passer. Calme-toi, chéri. Personne ne te fera de mal. Je t'aime et je te protégerai de tout mal. Je t'aime tellement que ça me fait mal de te voir souffrir. Oui, on ne peut pas être ensemble, mais ça ne veut pas dire que je vais arrêter de me soucier de toi. Je t'aime. Toujours.”

*

There was a lot of suspicion on Astoria’s part. When her parents had told her that Narcissa Malfoy had visited them and asked them nicely but firmly to call off the marriage, Astoria had decided that she wasn’t going to accept such a behavior. Ever since she had been a girl, Draco Malfoy had been her husband. She hadn't liked it all of the time, but she had learnt to accept it. If she could do it, so could he. She had looked up to him and she had liked him for his strong personality and talent to handle all kinds of difficult situations.

When the trials happened, she was there, she heard all the bad things he had done and she had decided to give him another chance. She was going to marry him and change the Malfoy name to something that was no longer feared or hated, but into a respectable name again.

All of the rumors that Draco was gay, she had accepted as what they were – rumors. That was until she had seen Draco literally pining for none other than Harry Potter. Draco Malfoy was gay and in love with Harry Potter. _The Harry Potter_. How could she say No to letting Draco go?! They both looked so desperate and Astoria was suddenly aware that if she was going to marry Draco, she wouldn’t only destroy his life, but Harry’s as well and also her own. Draco should decide on his own who he wanted to be in a relationship with.

In fact, she had wanted to tell him this, but he had turned her down again and ran out of the Great Hall. Ginny Weasley had simply grabbed her and they tiptoed behind her soon-not-to-be-husband. And currently, they were hiding behind a statue in one of the bathrooms, when Draco had started speaking French. Luckily, she had learnt French as her duty of being a pureblood and so she understood perfectly what Draco was telling Harry.

“My strong, handsome man, it's going to be okay. Calm down, love. Nobody's going to hurt you. I love you and I will be protecting you from any harm. I love you so much, it literally hurts me to see you hurting. Yes, we can't be together, but that doesn't mean, I'll stop caring about you. I love you. Always.”

She had serious trouble keeping her tears at bay. She had always wanted someone to talk to her as Draco talked to Harry. There was so much love in his voice, he was being so calm and patient, when Harry didn’t turn around immediately.

And once the Gryffindor turned and threw himself at Draco, she saw the Slytherin silently crying as well, holding onto the Savior for dear life. He kept whispering something, but she couldn’t hear the individual words, only the language: French.

Harry seemed to calm down rather quickly, but was still holding onto Draco as if his life depended on it. The next words, Draco spoke were in English again and clearer than before. However, his voice was shaky and Astoria guessed that it must have been the emotions running through him.

“Let’s get you to bed, calinours. And maybe your little son as well.”


	79. Time is the Essence of Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wakes up and believes that everything that happened is a dream.

Harry opened his eyes and looked around. The bed next to his was empty, so Ron must have gotten up already. Yawning, he sat up and stared at the crib for a second, before he jumped up.

Teddy was gone!

 _Not again_ , Harry thought as he grabbed the closest sweater and jeans to run up the stairs. Once there, he almost crashed into Draco, who caught him in the last second.

“Wow, wow, Harry! What’s going on?!” Draco looked at him rather worried, but before Harry could say anything he noticed the little toddler playing with the bunny he had given his godson on Christmas.

Draco must have followed his gaze, as he smiled at him again. “Yeah, well, you were sleeping and I figured you could use any second of that, seeing as you haven’t really slept for the last few days.”

“Rather weeks, Draco.” He turned to face the Slytherin and frowned. He seemed to be so happy and Harry had no idea why. What was even going on right now?!

The blond wizard smirked at him and offered him a seat saying that they needed to talk. Harry really didn’t like this, but he took a seat anyway.

“What do you remember about yesterday?” Draco asked at the start.

Frowning, Harry shrugged his shoulders “I don’t… I don’t know.” What even happened the other day? It all came back rather suddenly. His father and friends had convinced him to eat in the Great Hall, Draco was there and he’d had another breakdown. Draco was by his side again.

He bit his lower lip and sighed. “I’m sorry, Draco. I really don’t want to destroy your marriage, so if you want me to…”

“Shut up, Harry” Draco said grinning, which made him frown. Why would the Slytherin be happy about his marriage?! So that meant he was over him, wasn’t he? Before he could think of different things, the blond wizard started talking again. “Astoria told me yesterday after I put you into bed that she’s going to ask her parents to withdraw her marriage contract.”

It was quiet for a full minute. Harry couldn’t quite understand what had just happened. Did that just come out of his memories? It sounded a little like it, but he was suddenly exremely unsure of everything. He remembered the door opening slowly while he was lying in bed, but that could have been a dream as well.

_”Hey Harry” Draco’s soft voice brought him back to reality and he looked up into those grey stormy eyes, illuminated by his wand’s light. The Slytherin was kneeling at the side of his bed. Harry couldn’t say anything, but only stared at him. He looked so handsome, but also extremely tired._

_His hand stroked his cheek and then softly ran through his hair. The Slytherin leaned in and kissed his forehead._

_“What are you doing?” Harry asked, though he would have been surprised if Draco understood him as he slurred his words so that they didn’t even sound like what he wanted them to sound like._

_Draco put his forehead at Harry’s and they relished the feeling of being so close to each other. Finally, Harry could have the real thing, the real scent of chocolate, roses and pine trees again. Even if it was for just a second._

_“Guess what, calinours!” Draco said, once he had withdrawn his head. His eyes were glowing and he looked really happy. Harry smiled weakly, still feeling the heavy fatigue from which Draco had awaken him. Wait, when did he even fall into his bed and fall asleep?_

_“Harry, dear” Draco chuckled a little and his hand stroked over his cheek once more to get his attention. “Astoria’s going to ask her parents to withdraw the marriage contract. We can be together, love.”_

_Smiling softly and sighing a little, he fell back into his pillow. What a beautiful dream he was having…_

Harry jolted out of his memory. “It wasn’t a dream, was it?!”

Draco started laughing and shook his head. He looked so relieved and happy. Somehow Astoria had changed her mind and was ready to give them a happy ending? That couldn’t just have happened out of the blue; something had to play a big role in their happiness.

As if Draco has sensed what Harry had been thinking, he grinned at him and explained what Ginny had done to help them both.

“I think I should just give her all my wealth as a thank you” Harry said laughing once Draco had stopped explaining. The blond wizard only shook his head, but was laughing at the end as well.

“Ron asked if we could change rooms again, I think he missed the quiet, when Teddy wasn’t crying.”

“Or maybe he just had enough of my mopey face all the time” Harry suggested grinning. He would have loved to fall around Draco’s neck, but he first had to find out where Astoria’s withdrawal of marriage contract left the two of them.

Teddy was playing in the background and Harry decided to watch him put some simple objects into different boxes and enjoying the rabbit that was hopping around.

Draco had apparently also followed his gaze, but then he was suddenly standing in front of him, his fingers under Harry’s chin, gently convincing him to look at the other man. Even though he looked calm and collected, his eyes had always been his weakness. Right now, the storm was back, raging inside of his brain and Harry was sure he could actually see it in the other's eyes.

The Slytherin took a deep breath. “So Harry, where does that leave us?”

He could feel his stomach turn in the best way possible. Draco was insecure about their relationship as well. He needed to have some confirmation too, before they could restart this whole thing.

“I would say, waiting for Astoria to tell you that her parents are okay with you two not marrying” Harry suggested, clearly having learnt from his mistakes.

This time, however, it seemed as if Draco was kicking all of his Slytherin self-preservation into the curb. He shook his head and kept looking at him with this impossible to resist kind of look. Getting up, Harry didn’t stop looking at Draco and once they were both standing – the blond wizard’s fingers still under his chin – Harry did the only thing he could think of doing.

A kiss. A kiss that started so sweet it could have counted as honey or chocolate frogs. Draco returned it immediately, putting both his hand around Harry’s waist. It slowly but surely became more and more needy and desperate.

Harry put his arms around the Slytherin’s neck, though not before destroying his hair. Draco’s whole body seemed to curve into Harry’s and they both couldn’t care more about oxygen. At least for a few more moments. Their break for air had been rather quick, when Harry threw himself at Draco again, this time walking him backwards, while kissing, until his legs hit the couch and he fell backwards on it. Not even breaking for this, Draco pulled him closer and he was kneeling on the Slytherin’s lap – straddling his legs.

Finally, they both seemed to need air as they broke off and were panting as if competing in some fucked up game, though neither of them could have cared less.

“I love you, Harry James Potter” Draco whispered, once he had recovered a little and he placed his hands on Harry’s thighs.

Smiling, Harry leaned in and placed another quick kiss on Draco’s lips. “I love you too, Draco Lucius Malfoy.”

He started playing with the blond strain of hair and Draco closed his eyes, quite obviously relishing in the feeling. They were quiet for a few moment, when Harry drew Draco into another soft kiss, to get him out of his trance like state.

“Well, Draco, does that mean, we’re back in a relationship?”

Chuckling, the Slytherin simply winked at him. “Well, I would be in if you’d be in as well.”

“Count me in, dragonfly” Harry whispered into Draco’s ear, delighted in the fact that he made Draco shudder so easily.

When Harry drew back, he saw tears running down Draco’s face and immediately pulled him into a tight hug. “Hey dragonfly, it’s all going to be okay” he whispered into Draco’s ear. “It’s going to be okay, Draco. We’ve made it through the worst. Nothing can come between us ever again!”

It took them both quite a while to calm down and simply enjoy each other’s company. Once that happened, Harry moved from his position, wanting to sit next to Draco, but the Slytherin grabbed him and pulled him back into his lap. He chuckled and hid his face in the crook of the blond wizard’s neck. At least now he was sitting and not kneeling. Draco was holding him so close and he could indulge in being so close to the other man. He had never stopped loving him.

“I've missed you, calinours” Draco suddenly admitted and made Harry look up from where he was hiding his face.

“Draco, I’ve missed you too.”

The Slytherin smiled softly and seemed to be a little sad. “I’m really sorry for what I’ve put you through, love.”

“I don’t care anymore, Draco. I love you and we’re together again, so now we can forget what happened these past few weeks.”

Draco shook his head. “I will never forget what happened and what I’ve put…”

Harry put his hand over his boyfriend’s mouth. “Stop it, Draco.” He kissed his temples, still covering the other man’s mouth. “Everything turned out to be just fine. You see, that’s what I’m trying to teach my father and his friends. You can’t change history. But you can learn to live with it and accept it. And maybe, learn to move on as well.”

He raised an eyebrow, when Draco didn’t fight that he was covering his mouth and took away his hand. The Slytherin smiled softly. “When did you become a freaking wise old wizard?”

Harry chuckled and rolled his eyes. “You adapt and you learn, love.”

“And you love” Draco added, before drawing him into another deep kiss, which was interrupted after just two seconds by a cough.

Draco and Harry looked up to see Daphne Greengrass standing at the girl’s dormitory door. Harry jumped up and turned around to go and play with Teddy, but still keeping an eye out for Draco. Daphne seemed to know this, but she wasn’t really bothered.

“Well, I’ve heard some interesting news, Draco” she said smiling. Harry tried to analyze her smile, but couldn’t find anything concerning.

Apparently, neither could Draco as he frowned, without saying anything. Daphne shrugged her shoulders and kept smiling at him. After the longest time, she sat down on the table that was in the middle of the couch group.

“My parents have agreed to accept Astoria’s plea for no more marriage contracts. That does mean you’re free from now on.” She looked over to Harry, who averted his gaze, a little too late to not be caught by her. But he couldn’t have cared less. It was and always had been Draco and he would be damned if he wouldn’t let everyone know that.

Draco, on the other hand, frowned at her. “And how do you know about this? Astoria told me yesterday she was going to ask her… your parents. No letter’s that fast…”

“Oh, it wasn’t a letter. She convinced the headmistress that she could use the floo network in her office to call our parents. They accepted this yesterday evening” Daphne revealed and smiled. “Whatever happened, she was really convincing that you two would be unhappy together and that she didn’t want this marriage contract. She didn’t say anything else, but knowing that the two of you stayed together every second of free time… and what I’ve just witnessed… it was quite obvious.”

“We could have just been friends” Harry argued from where he was sitting on the floor and he turned to the two Slytherins. Daphne was grinning from ear to ear as she stood up and winked at Draco.

"She's here you know. She told me everything and now she's hiding ever since you walked into the Common Room, but I think she needs to tell you something."

Harry froze and looked from one person to the other. Should he stay here as well or walk away? Maybe Teddy needed his diaper changed or, well he was still in his pajamas, he should definitely change.

When he got up, Daphne turned and face him. "I'm pretty sure you want to hear this as well, Harry."

He couldn't just go now... Now, he had to wait and listen to what Astoria, Draco's ... ex wive? Ex lover? whatever... whatever she had to tell the both of them. Daphne walked into the girls dormitory room and Harry sat back down, biting his lower lip. Draco seemed to be nervous as well, as he was breathing a little faster and he nervously tapped his foot.

The door opened again and Daphne walked out again, Astoria in tow. She stopped about a foot outside of the girl's dormitory and stared at Draco for a while and then at Harry. He felt really uncomfortable, but maybe after all of this, everything would be over.

Suddenly, Astoria inhaled deeply and turned to Draco. "I really am sorry for what I've put you through. I guess I should have believed a fellow pureblood when you said you were gay. But you need to understand that I grew up with being your wive and this stability suddenly disappearing was too... scary for me. I just..." she looked over to Harry and sighed. "I'm sorry. And I hope you can forgive me."

Draco stood up and smiled at her, before nodding. Harry agreed as well, though he definitely didn't want to. She was the reason that he went through hell the last few weeks. While for her it was just a matter of stability, Harry's whole life seemed to depend on Draco. And yes, stabilty was one of the things, but enjoying your life, loving someone... that was a whole other thing.

When Astoria fled the Common Room and Daphne went back to the girl's dormitory, Harry’s boyfriend came over immediately and hugged him from behind. “I love you so much” he whispered into Harry’s ear. “And from now on, nothing will be able to separate us ever again.”

“I’m taking your word on that, Malfoy” Harry grinned when Draco rolled his eyes, but kissed his cheek.

“You better, Potter.”


	80. Don’t waste your Time on him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry asks Draco for something and gets an interesting surprise.

“Draco, I want a love letter.”

The Slytherin, who had just wanted to add another sentence to his essay, stopped dead in his tracks and raised his head to look at Harry. After some moments, he tried hiding a smile, but Harry knew him well enough to know which indicators to look at: the corner of his mouth slightly raised, maybe a little sparkle in his eyes.

“That is so not how this works, calinours” he said though Harry could see how he was already trying to think about how to make this the best love letter ever. “And I also already wrote you a letter. Which you then tore into a thousand pieces.”

“You…” Harry narrowed his eyes. Of course Draco knew about him tearing his letter into pieces. It wouldn’t have been Draco if he wouldn’t have followed him around. “Well, that wasn’t a love letter. It was a break-up explanation letter. Almost an essay, really. I want a real love letter.”

By now, Draco had serious trouble hiding his grin from Harry, but he didn’t care about that. There was a serious reason why he wanted or more… needed a love letter. With Draco about to start laughing, he wasn’t sure whether he should say it of give his boyfriend the laughter he so clearly longed for.

Settling for latter, he decided to add a little fuel to the fire. “If you want, I’d write you one as well.”

Draco started laughing and shook his head. He leaned towards Harry and gave him a kiss on his cheek, while Madam Pince threw them a death glare, since Draco’s laughter was a little bit too loud for the library, even though they were hiding at the very back, where not that many people came to study.

“Harry, tell me: Why do you want me to write you a love letter?”

He stared at his Charms essay which he had almost finished, but looked at Draco again, when the Slytherin put his hand on his and squeezed gently.

“I… I want to be able to remind myself that there are people who love me. You know, when it gets bad and I want to give up on anything, I… I just… I don’t know.” He didn’t know how to put it into terms that other people could understand it. “I just want proof that I’m worthy of love.”

Draco had long lost the grin on his face. He placed the books, which were stacked between them, on the table and moved over to Harry, where he put his arm around him and pulled him closer. “You are worthy of love, Harry. You are the most wonderful person I’ve ever met and no one deserves more love than you.”

“Don’t get overly excited, now, Draco” Harry tried to joke even though he was almost about to tear up.

“Sweet calinours” Draco whispered into his ear and made Harry really feel as if he was loved. “I will write you the most beautiful love letter, anyone has ever gotten and don’t you dare write something back. You don’t need to do something to get something else in return. Understood?”

Harry nodded and hid his face in the crook of Draco’s neck. How could he be so lucky? Draco was the most wonderful and caring person he had ever met. To think that he had once actively hated this Slytherin was just stupidly funny. If young Harry could have seen him like that, he would have probably taken Voldemort’s offer of killing him right away.

The day was over rather fast and Draco had offered to get Teddy from Madam Pomfrey, if Harry would put both their satchels into their room. Since Harry had nothing really to say against it, he accepted the offer and walked up to the Common Room, when an owl was picking at the window, following him. Frowning, he opened the window in the small hallway and took the letter. Post was normally delivered in the mornings, why would the owl give him a letter now? He wanted to grab some owl treats, when the animal flew away without even another glance at him.

Curiously, he opened the letter, of which he didn’t recognize the handwriting. Draco was definitely not that fast in writing a love letter. Harry grinned at this thought, but stopped dead in his track when his eyes reached the signature line.

_Lucius Malfoy_

Oh, this must be a bad joke. Draco’s father was writing him?! Why would he ever think that was a good idea?! He slowly got up to the Common Room, pondering over what was written in the letter, which he had read fairly quickly.

> _Mr. Potter_
> 
> _I am hopeful that this letter has reached you well. I have been informed that the Greengrass family has retracted the marriage contract, of which I am sure you had something to do with._
> 
> _There is a topic I need to discuss with my son; however, I believe you know what happened during the Christmas holidays. Therefore, I was hoping I could be talking to you and for you to give my son the news._
> 
> _I am only allowed to write one letter and have one visitor per month, thus I would be very pleased to find you visiting tomorrow at one p.m., where we could talk about the situation at hand. If Draco’s wellbeing is your concern, you should at least hear what I have to say._
> 
> _I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow._
> 
> _Lucius Malfoy_

Hermione and Ron, who fortunately had been the only people in the Common Room (seeing that Dean, Seamus and Neville were planning the party of the century for every Hogwarts student at the end of the week), frowned at the letter. Draco hadn’t been back from getting Teddy and Harry was incredibly happy about that. If he had known that his father had written a letter to Harry, he would have probably gotten it and thrown it into the fire.

“Harry, what do you think about it?” Hermione asked and gave it back to Harry who looked over it once again. That had been the fourth time reading it.

He sighed and leaned back in his armchair. “I don’t know to be honest. The only thing I know is that if James would have written such a letter, I would have probably wanted to know what it was all about.”

Ron nodded thoughtfully. “But if James would have written a letter, he wouldn’t have been in prison. And fighting on the wrong side of war.”

“Harry, think about how much effort he must have put into this letter. I mean, he does say it himself: He’s allowed one letter a month and one visitor as well. He could have written his wife or son, but he chose you” Hermione argued and made Harry sigh.

“Well, if he would have written Draco, he would have probably burned it on the spot. Lucius Malfoy knows I can’t resist finding out what thing he wants to tell me about Draco.”

Ron huffed and shook his head. “He’s a Slytherin, Harry. You can't trust them.”

Harry laughed loudly. “So is Draco. And I trust him with my life.”

Ron nodded and Harry knew that exactly that was his point. He looked to Hermione who shrugged her shoulders. “In the end, it’s your decision. Just make it quickly, because Draco could be here any second now.”

“I think I need to find out what he wants me to tell Draco. I mean, he’s inside Azkaban, so he can’t really get out of there for the next few years” he decided.

Hermione nodded in agreement, but Ron looked a little uncomfortable. “So, mate, what do you want us to tell Draco where you are tomorrow at one?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he said the first thing that came to mind. “Tell him I’m planning on topping his New Years Eve date. That should give me a little time to talk to his father.”

Just then the door opened and Draco walked in with a happy looking Teddy on his waist. Harry snatched the letter and hid it in his pocket. He would tell and show Draco the letter when he had visited his father and talked to him.

*

Azkaban looked even worse in person. He had only ever seen it in pictures, but seeing the prison slowly rise on the horizon while the boat brought him to the visitor entrance was way scarier. All the blackness together with the fog surrounding the prison made it an uncanny experience. The actual walk through the grey on grey hallways with doors or bars to the people sitting behind wasn’t any better. And combined with him being Harry Potter who put a lot of the Death Eater-prisoners in here… he was on high alert.

Once he stood next to Lucius’ cell, the prison guard put up silencing charms around them and stood at the very end waiting for them to finish their discussion.

“I never would have believed you’d show up” Lucius Malfoy greeted him. He looked worse than the last time he’d see him. Though that was about a year ago and he had still been a free man by that time.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not here for me. You told me in your letter that there's something you need to tell me concerning Draco?”

Draco’s father frowned a little, though he nodded shortly after. “There is. What did he tell you about what happened on Christmas?”

Frankly, Harry would have loved to just walk away and ignore everything. Was it a mistake to have come here? “He explained that after he outed himself as gay, you told him that you didn’t accept his sexuality, that he was a disgrace for the family and that you would only count him as his son again if he was married and probably had an heir. Then you locked him out of the house.”

Lucius Malfoy’s eyes grew wide and Harry was confused. Since when does someone not realize what he said? It really looked as if the Malfoy patriarch had no idea what he had told Draco. Apparently, he had an explanation ready.

“It’s all not true! Well, yes, I locked the door, but I didn’t realize that Draco was outside and by the time I thought something like that could have happened, the Aurors had stripped me of my magical abilities and threw me back into Azkaban” the elder Malfoy explained and Harry frowned. It seemed like quite the stretch, but Harry decided to give him some more time to explain himself. No one except Hermione and Ron knew where he was, so he had all the time in the world and if something didn’t go well enough, he could always pretend as if nothing ever happened.

“You see, there’s this plant that Aurors use to separate two suspects: Odium plant. Whenever you open your mouth, what you say will be the worst thing you could say to the other person. I didn’t even realize I was given this plant. One of the side effects is a lower magical ability” Lucius Malfoy explained.

Even though Harry understood a little bit, he still didn’t know what all of this had to do with Draco being locked outside of his house. “Mr. Malfoy, could you please tell me how all of this led to what had happened?”

“Of course” he answered. “Draco mentioned that he was gay and that he didn’t want to marry Astoria Greengrass. I had been surprised, it came out of nowhere for me. So I told him, that marriage contracts couldn’t just be withdrawn and that he needed to be a little patient. By that time, I realized that something wasn’t right, as my son looked at me as if I had told him that I hated his life choices. My wife wasn’t happy with me as well. So I turned to look at the Aurors that were stationed inside my house and it turned out, they just wanted to have a little fun while having to watch me during Christmas. I made them regret their decision of laughing at my son and locked them out of the house. Meanwhile, Draco must have run outside while I mentally locked the house. When the Head Auror brought me back to Azkaban I realized that I hadn’t seen my son inside the house after all of the commotion.”

Both men stood in silence for a while. Harry wasn’t sure if he should believe Draco’s father. On the other hand… why on earth should he lie to him? About such a topic no less.

“So, Mr. Malfoy, what you are trying to tell me is that everything that happened was a mistake?” Harry asked carefully. Draco’s father nodded. “Then why wouldn’t you tell him that? He though you would have left his side, that you hated him for who he was!?”

Well, at least Lucius Malfoy had the decency to look ashamed. “I must admit, I have tried, but after every letter had come back unopened, I stopped hoping to be able to apologize.”

“What about your wife?”

Lucius Malfoy shook his head. “She hasn’t been visiting me for two months now. She hasn’t sent back any letters, but I doubt she’s reading them.”

They stood in silence again for quite some time, until Harry decided to go back to Hogwarts. Lucius stopped him before he could turn away.

“Please tell my… tell Draco that I accept all his life choices and that no matter what I will love my son. The judge gave me two more years for attacking Aurors on duty, so he doesn’t have to worry about me messing with his life. Just know that if you break his heart, Mr. Potter, I might have to break out of here and come after you.”

There was the slightest smile on his lips and Harry nodded. “Should I end up breaking Draco’s heart, you are very welcome to come after me because that would mean I have lost my mind.”

They nodded at each other and Harry suddenly felt really weird. Was he just able to have a normal and decent discussion with Draco’s dad? He walked back through all the grey hallways, being stared down by Death Eaters and other prisoners, but simply keeping his eyes on the guard in front of him.

Once they had reached the end of the prison and only some visitor waiting rooms were able to be seen, they walked into Kingsley, who stood there frowning at Harry.

“Good afternoon, Harry. How are you doing?” he asked.

His nonchalance made Harry a little suspicious. It sounded as if he had been waiting for Harry to arrive here. But none other than Hermione and Ron knew about it. Except… he touched the pockets in his trousers and knew the letter was missing. Draco must have found it!

Kingsley nodded towards a visitor room. “There’s someone waiting for you and wants a private conversation. I had to promise to stay outside.”

Harry nodded and sighed in defeat, when he opened the door and found a furious looking Draco pacing the room. When he heard the door open, the Slytherin turned around and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Harry! You should have told me!”

It sounded more like a thunderstorm racing towards him. Closing the door, Harry shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t really know what to say. Yes, he should have told him, but his curiosity had been too damn high to just ignore a letter like this.

Since he had stayed quiet, Draco started pacing and talking again. “It’s not enough that he destroyed my life, no he needs to talk and lie to you as well. Did he tell you that I am a disgrace to his family? I swear, if he told you that _you_ were a disgrace, I will rip him into pieces.” 

Harry stepped into the path Draco was creating with his pacing and held his arms tightly. “Don’t say something like that when the Aurors are watching you, they gave your father two additional years in Azkaban.”

Draco had been fighting Harry but once he had heard that, he stopped trying to get free and frowned. “What for?”

“Attacking Aurors after they gave your father some kind of plant that lets the others hear their worst nightmare: Odio... something and they apparently laughed at you.”

It was suddenly really quiet in the room, Draco stared at Harry as if he couldn’t quite believe what was going on. “Odium. It’s the Odium plant that makes people hear what they fear the most” Draco said quietly and looked at the floor. Harry nodded softly and pulled Draco into a tight hug.

He told Draco everything Lucius Malfoy had said and in the end, Draco decided to stay and visit his father. Apparently the Malfoy patriarch had been lying about one thing: he was allowed to write four letters a month and get four visitors in two months.

Harry hardly blamed the man for lying at him, most people knew Harry’s weak spot: trying to help others. And today he won by helping a son and father start walking towards each other again. He decided to wait until Draco was back and to head towards Hogwarts together afterwards.


	81. For old Time’s sake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry shows off his Patronus and surprises Draco with a very late Valentine's Day gift.

Harry stood next to Bellchant in front of the fifth year, waiting for his professor to teach them how to do the Patronus charm. The DADA professor had asked him to teach it with him, probably seeing that a student who had mastered a corporal Patronus in third year should be amazing at teaching fifth years how to do this.

With James, Sirius and Remus (especially the latter) in his class, however, Harry hadn’t agreed to _teach_ , but to set an example, if he wanted someone to do that. So Bellchant had agreed without really knowing why Harry wasn’t happy teaching the others.

The students had learnt the spell rather quickly and everyone turned to face Harry. He nodded at his professor, closed his eyes and looked for the first strong happy memory he could find. He didn't need to look that far. This morning, when Draco had woken him up with a soft kiss and whispered sweet nothings in French into his ears along with some cuddles were the strongest and happiest memories he could think of right now.

He smiled and help up his wand. “Expecto Patronum”, he called, his eyes still closed and waited for a second, when he heard the people in the classroom inhaling rather impressed.

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with a rather interesting picture. Gone was the stag galloping around the room, no this time it was a huge, winged, bluish dragon circling the chandelier. _Draco’s Patronus!_ Harry widened his eyes and looked at the graceful monster in the room. The thing that made it reality was the very grey, whirlwind eyes of said dragon – just like Draco’s.

The three time travelers grinned knowingly, while most people were just impressed by the corporal Patronus being a dragon. Harry had to be honest he had thought that his Patronus had changed ever since Draco showed his to the Ministry. A Patronus didn’t simply change forms just because it wanted to. There were deep emotions behind a protection spell and maybe the fact that Harry had thought about Draco before casting his Patronus was a hint towards the real form.

Suddenly, Harry was wondering what Draco’s memory or emotion for a Patronus was. He was really hoping that it had something to do with him, but he didn’t dare hope.

News about Harry’s Patronus traveled pretty fast around Hogwarts and soon the people who knew Harry’s original form – including Draco – had heard about it and cornered him during lunch. While Hermione was feeding Teddy, the others were asking all kinds of stuff, which Harry just couldn’t answer (he didn’t know all the technicalities about Patronusses).

When Draco walked up to their dormitory to get a book for their next class, Harry sprinted after him, leaving Teddy with Hermione for a second.

“Draco, wait. I have a question!”

The blond wizard stopped and turned around, smiling. “I already know, calinours.”

“Really?”

When Harry looked at him, he realized that, yes; Draco did in fact know what his question was going to be. His eyes were so soft and full of love and his smile was so obviously sweet, that Harry couldn’t help himself, but running forward and falling around Draco’s neck.

Draco put his arms around his waist and pulled him closer. He softly kissed his temples and held him close. “You want to know what I’m thinking of when I’m casting my Patronus?”

Harry nodded into Draco and inhaled his signature scent. He relished in the feeling of Draco holding him so close and he didn’t want anyone interrupting their moment, not even someone he knew well enough.

Luckily for them, no one walked by and destroyed their picture perfect moment – well, not that picture perfect, but for now it was.

“First, I told you, I was thinking of Christmas mornings, but the memory wasn’t strong enough. So the next best thing was… you being alive. I didn’t realize how important this memory was, but then I have always been in love with you and seeing you in Hagrid’s arms broke my heart. And then you weren’t dead, you were standing in the middle of the Great Hall, fighting Voldemort. Being alive and I… I felt this hope and more than hope, I can’t explain it. And every time I cast a Patronus I remember this weirdly strong feeling that makes me feel as if I can do anything.”

Harry stayed quiet for a few moments, then raised his head and wordlessly wiped his tears from his face. This was the most beautiful thing Draco could have said. It was just like a very wordy and heavy _I love you_.

"Hey, Draco, I have a short question: Remember when we started with you teaching me potions? You told me that we'd be brewing Felix Felicis before Christmas... Did you forget or..."

Draco smiled and shook his head. "I didn't forget, but I was actually willing to brew it, so I could get the courage to ask you out. And when I realized you liked me, I stopped trying to force it. I mean, it did end up amazingly, right?"

Harry laughed and shook his head. "Speaking of long forgotten things: I am still allowed to choose something for you." 

"What are you even talking about?" Draco frowned, before he remembered. "Hold on, you're not actually talking about the game we played in... _October?!_ " 

"I am and I have a surprise for you this afternoon, Draco. So you better be prepared to go into London. Before you ask” Harry added as he saw Draco wanting to say something. "I’ve already cleared your travel privileges with Kingsley. So there’s no way around this.”

His boyfriend chuckled. “And what is it?”

“I told you!” Harry smirked. “It’s a surprise you’re not going to regret.”

The Slytherin shrugged his shoulders and Harry kissed him softly, before running back into the Great Hall and getting his godson. 

*

Teddy loved the bathes just way too much, as not only the floor was wet, but Harry as well. All his clothes were soaked, but he couldn’t have minded less. The glow in his godson’s eyes, the loud laughter and him dabbling in the water was making it hard not to be happy. And right now, Teddy was just enjoying the very end of the bath. Harry had chosen to let him stay in there for a few more minutes, just because he seemed to enjoy it very much.

Suddenly, the door opened and Draco walked in, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw the scene in front of his eyes.

“Well” Draco started, apparently unable to comprehend what was going on. “At least I have found you two now.”

He drew his wand and dried the water on the floor. Harry frowned and looked at his wet clothes and back at Draco, who was putting his wand away again.

“Draco… Why did you dry the floor but not my clothes?”

The Slytherin grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “You’re an adult; you can do that on your own.”

“I could have also dried the floor on my own, dragonfly.” Harry grinned as Draco suddenly realized that he couldn’t get out of his excuses. He had his suspicions as to why the other man didn’t dry his clothes, but he wanted to hear it. He wanted to get a confession.

Draco, however, was not about to give him the satisfaction and turned to Teddy who suddenly dabbled in the water rather violently and made Draco’s new plain white sweater wet. The Slytherin stared at his pullover and then at the toddler, while Harry burst out laughing, which earned him a vicious look.

“Potter, keep your son under control!”

“Malfoy, be an adult and dry yourself!”

Which that, Draco couldn’t stop himself from laughing and threw some water at Harry, which only earned him an _Aquamenti_ over his head. The blond – and now wet – wizard jumped up yelping and stared down at himself and then back at a chuckling Harry. Teddy on the other hand was laughing louder than ever.

“Did you just…?” Draco couldn’t seem to understand what just happened. Or maybe he just couldn’t put it in words.

“I sure did, dragonfly.” Harry winked at him and got Teddy out of the bathtub to quickly dress him, before he was giving him to Hermione and Ron (and all the marauders).

Draco still stood there, his hands half raised, looking at the water dripping from his clothes and hands. He shook his head hard and the water in his hair flew in all directions. When he looked up, he was smirking slightly. He had apparently gotten over the fact that Harry had turned him into a human waterfall.

The Slytherin cast a charm over himself and the floor – once again ignoring Harry’s clothes – before he gave Harry Teddy’s jumper. 

“Draco” Harry managed to sound a little annoyed.

“Yes dear?”

He sounded so damn innocent as if he couldn’t harm a fly, but Harry knew exactly what Draco was thinking. At least for this once. There were no more words said. Harry silently dressed Teddy, who squeaked happily. Only then, did he start talking again.

Turning around to face his boyfriend, he let Teddy onto the floor and the boy walked closer to Draco, hugging his leg and effectively preventing him from running away.

“I know you like the sight of me like that, Draco” Harry said quietly and grinned, when Draco immediately turned all of his attention to the toddler on his leg.

Smirking, Harry walked closer and pressed Draco against the door, careful not to hurt Teddy. He framed the other man’s head with his hands pressing at the door. “Am I wrong, handsome? You do like me like this, don’t you?” he whispered into Draco’s ear. The other man shuddered and moaned slightly.

“H… Harry…, there’s a baby here!” Draco was not meeting his eye.

This only made Harry working more on gaining the Slytherin’s attention. “So? He’s just happy to be with you. And I’m happy you’re here as well.”

Draco hesitantly raised his head and looked at him for a second. Harry clearly loved this soft, insecure side of his boyfriend. It did make him seem a little more human.

“Still, Draco; if you didn’t want to be called out on liking me dripping with water in a t-shirt where you could basically see everything I’m normally hiding…” Harry smirked, when he noticed the Slytherin’s gaze wandering down to his t-shirt. Sometimes, even though Draco would refuse to admit this, he was just too easily manipulated. “…you should have dried me the second time around.”

Draco’s breathing was flat and Harry saw him shivering a little. Now, suddenly the roles were reversed, but neither of the men cared about it when Harry’s lips hovered close to the Slytherin’s. He let his hands move over the Slytherin's shoulder, chest and stroked his hand deliberately slow along Draco’s waist to his back, where he suddenly stopped and opened the door.

He dried himself in an instant with a wandless spell, grabbed Teddy and walked up the stairs to the Common Room, grinning, while he could still hear Draco’s frustrated screams and swearing even on the top of the stairs.

*

“Okay, so here’s the deal” Harry started once they arrived in the Leaky Cauldron and he dragged Draco into a small side alley next to Diagon Alley. “It was supposed to be a Valentine’s Day present, but you know…” he trailed off and shrugged his shoulders.

Draco nodded silently. He was still very intrigued as to what Harry was up, he knew it. And to be honest, Harry just had to tell him.

He grabbed Draco’s hand again and smiled a little. “We’re going to get your Dark Mark removed.”

Draco stopped dead in his track and stared at Harry, clearly lost for words or unable to think of anything else but “What?!”

Harry grinned. “I said we’re getting…”

“I know what you’ve said. How is this possible? I thought it’s not working! Nothing can be…” he stopped and shook his head. He seemingly couldn’t believe what was going on.

“I’ll tell you how it’s possible: It’s a wizard’s tattoo parlor; they take away scars and hurtful tattoos and put some beauty inside and redirect the ink. Before you ask, they already did a Dark Mark removal.”

Draco couldn’t stop frowning, as he kept staring at Harry. He realized that the blond wizard was about to ask how he knew about the Dark Mark thing, but Harry decided to be the first one talking. “They didn’t want to start with your Dark Mark, they wanted to test it first and your father volunteered two days ago.”

Well, if Draco wasn’t speechless before, he was now. Apparently the knowledge that his father would do something like that for him, to be a test subject for him, threw him off completely.

“Did it work?” Draco asked after they had started walking through the small alleyways towards the tattoo parlor Harry had visited a few days prior with Lucuis.

He nodded grinningly. “Why would I take you there if it didn’t work?!”

Draco started laughing and suddenly it seemed as if a lot of weight had fallen off of him. “I can’t believe this!”

He grabbed Harry and pulled him closer, then kissed him passionately. It was all a little surprising and caught Harry off guard. Once they separated, Draco stared at Harry for the longest time.

“So, you’re literally giving me another chance at life and all I gave you was a sweater that read _I can’t think straight, because I’m not_?!” Draco shook his head, still a little puzzled.

Harry laughed loudly and kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. “To be honest, though, I love that sweater and I will drive you crazy with it, trying to wear it to every public event I as The Chosen One have to attend.”

“No, you won’t!”

“Hell yes, I will!”

“Well, I might have to hide it from now on.”

Draco was really nervous, but excited when they entered the tattoo parlor and Harry knew the surprise had been good and worth waiting for. A young woman called Rita, who was heavily tattooed and had the most at ease charisma, took him under his wings and they walked towards the back, but not without Draco turning around and winking at Harry.

Shaking his head, Harry decided to get a tattoo as well. Not to remove a scar (he couldn’t really tattoo his face…) but because… why not?

The other tattoo artist in the house was another woman called Cleo. Harry had only met Rita, as she had done the Dark Mark removal with Lucius. Cleo seemed really happy to meet him and once he told her his idea for a tattoo, she was hooked and started drawing his vision.

A few hours later and both men were done with their tattoos. Harry had gotten a black and white forest scene on his upper arm with a stag, a wolf, a dog and a cat as well as the silhouette of dragon flying in front of the moon. Everything at the bottom was framed by lilies.

When Draco saw it, he held his hand on front of his mouth, clearly awe-struck. Then it was time for him to show Harry his tattoo.

Instead of the Dark Mark on his forearm, there sat a midnight blue baby dragon, starring at the people who looked at him with a tilted head and two different eyes. One eye was green, the other grey. It wasn’t really subtle, but then again, neither was Harry’s tattoo.

“Thank you, Harry. I will cherish this forever!” Draco whispered, once they had exited and walked back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo back to Hogwarts.


	82. Time to relax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione checks up on Harry, Draco and Teddy during the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a different PoV Chapter, since it doesn’t work with 84, so enjoy PoV Hermione as the last ever different point of view. Enjoy.

It was late in the evening, when Hermione finally decided to check up on Harry and Teddy. After everything that had happened this year she just wanted to make sure that he was doing okay. And yes, she was also interested in how Draco and Harry were doing together. Though she was pretty sure that they were perfectly happy.

She opened the door slowly and carefully to find an odd picture. All three inhabitants were lying in Harry’s bed. Harry’s head lay on the Slytherin’s chest, his arm around the other’s waist and he seemed to genuinely sleep in peace. Draco had a hand on the back of her best friend’s neck and the other one next to his head. Both men were peacefully asleep. In the middle slept a small bundle of the name Teddy Lupin as well.

Hermione smiled at the situation in front of her. Both Draco and Harry seemed just tired and they probably fell asleep without realizing what happened, while Teddy probably slept so calm, because of both their calmness. Smiling, Hermione left the room and decided to look after them in the morning.

On her way to Ron’s dorm, she remembered how far everyone had come. Dean and Seamus were still inseparable, but they could both sleep through the night. Neville hadn’t been out and about for two months now and her parents remembered her and were living in their old house again. Harry, being the good natured man he was, helped her with the rent so they could keep it through all of the chaos. She was sure as hell going to pay him back everything. If not him, she was going to give the money to Draco who would definitely accept it and do something nice for the two of them.

Everyone in eighth year had become a little quieter. It was exactly what they had needed: Time to rediscover what life and being alive meant. Hermione was sure that McGonagall had counted on that when she had asked everyone to come back.

Incredibly tired as she was, she slipped into Ron’s dormitory and into his bed, happy to have her boyfriend so close and being able to fall asleep next to him.

When morning came, six o’clock to be exact, Hermione got up and snuck to Harry’s dormitory again. Ron had slept so deep that he hadn’t even heard her leaving his room during the night. The picture in the men’s dormitory had changed slightly. Teddy lay in his crib next to Harry’s bed, while both other men were still occupying said bed.

They were both facing each other, Harry hiding his face in Draco’s shoulder and a hand on his chest - his heart to be honest -, while the Slytherin seemed to behave rather protective, with an arm around Harry’s waist and another under his neck.

Just as Hermione decided to let them sleep, Draco woke up and pressed Harry closer to himself. Hermione stood still. He was still half asleep, so the reaction of holding his former nemesis so close, was an unconscious one. It reminded her of what she had seen on Christmas with the Weasley’s. Draco was clearly as head over heels for the other man as Harry was. This moment just proved it again.

In that second, Harry stirred and nestled more against Draco, who chuckled quietly as held the other man even closer. Hermione loved to see them that way. Happy, untouched of everything that had happened to them and just… normal human beings.

“Stop moving, you idiot. I want to sleep in” she heard Harry’s command with an extremely tired voice. The Slytherin just started to laugh softly and kissed the top of Harry’s head, which made him look up.

“If anyone’s allowed to sleep in, it should be me!” the Slytherin whispered with a beautiful smile and rolled on his back.

That moment, Harry looked around the bed and Hermione could see him slightly panicking. “Where’s Teddy?!” He sat up and looked next to the bed.

The Slytherin just grabbed him and pulled him back down, though Harry was fighting him against this action. “He started crying last night, so I fed him and put him into bed. He’s in his crib.”

Harry turned to the crib and relaxed visibly. When he turned back to the Slytherin who was yawning, he smiled. “So, you want me to thank you?”

Draco glared at him, but Hermione could see him smirking. “Actually, yes. And if you don’t, I have other methods of making you thanking me.”

Harry frowned at him, and before he could say anything, the Slytherin grabbed his waist and started tickling him. Hermione was fascinated to see, how well these two were working together. They had mutual respect for each other and where they once brought out the worst of each other, now it seemed to be the exact opposite.

While Harry tried to fight off Draco and laugh as quietly as he could, to not wake Teddy, Hermione snuck slowly to the door. But she couldn’t leave, as it was suddenly quiet again. She looked over to see Harry cuddling with the other man once again, hiding his face in his chest and the Slytherin smiling at him lovingly.

The second she opened the door, Draco looked over and frowned at her. She smiled at him and showed him with her finger over her mouth that she wouldn’t be talking about what she had seen here. Draco simply nodded and turned to look at the crib, where Teddy stirred quietly.

*

It happened again. Everyone in the entire eighth year sat in the Common Room, talking. This time, though it seemed as if everyone had finally come over the war. Or at least some people. Others probably needed a little more time and to be honest, Hermione also needed more time to get over all the dead people, but they seemed to be just fine. Hanna and Neville were carefully flirting, though the Hufflepuff was very cautious with her words. Hermione grinned over the fact that Millicent was basically nudging her to say things and Neville as well. Yes, he killed a Horcrux without knowing what he did, but when it came to Hanna he reverted back to being a shy first year.

Susan and the Patill twins, along with Mandy and Megan discussed the possibility of becoming Mind Healers themselves and in the other corner; Fay and Sophie argued with Dean, Justin and Michael about some Quidditch strategies and talked about the future of being a Quidditch player.

In the middle of the room, Sally, Sue and Lisa played Exploding Snap against Ernest, Daphne and Seamus, while Lily watched and tried to distract both teams at the same time.

The people Hermione cared a lot about, though, sat around the huge fire place, just enjoying the craziness surrounding them. Ron had fallen asleep on the couch and was snoring quietly. It was quite surprising with all this chaos going on. On the other hand, Hermione was sure the chaos in the Burrow was sometimes maybe even more and Ron managed to sleep basically everywhere.

She loved to see Draco and Harry together. Ever since Astoria had agreed to withdraw the marriage contract, they had stopped hiding their affection for each other. And for some people it had come as a shock, but not to most of the eighth year. Right now, Draco was reading a Potion’s book and explaining some things to Harry, though he didn’t seem to be that interested. He was lying on the couch, his head on the Slytherin’s lap and his feet tapping to some music only in his head.

Hermione decided to keep watching them, as she was just in pure awe over their deep relationship. Before she could think about something else, Harry frowned and looked at his boyfriend.

“Draco, wait, didn't you say a few months back that the effects of the Noxious potion were unknown?” His hand had pulled the book out of Draco’s view and held onto his wrist.

The Slytherin smirked after a few seconds of thinking. “I did and you seem to remember that even though I’m pretty sure that situation wasn’t the happiest.”

Harry chuckled and shook his head. “For you it wasn’t. I had fun teasing you.”

Draco winked at Harry and tried to free his hand. Harry didn’t let go, but pulled it to his mouth and kissed the back of the Slytherin’s hand. They looked at each other, once again completely love struck and Hermione smiled slightly. These two were just perfect for each other.

“Well” Draco turned towards the book that was now lying on Harry’s stomach. “This book explains how the Noxious potion started, which ingredients were inside and what the possible effects could be. Nothing in here is actually proven, Harry. You should know that, if you would have listened to the very first paragraph I read to you, calinours.”

Harry smirked. “Well, I did listen, but I was entranced by your handsome face, so my brain was too occupied for anything else.”

Draco once again tried to get his hand free, but Harry had just too much strength. Hermione knew that those months on the run had definitely helped him build up muscles and he was showing off right now. The Slytherin seemed to come to a similar conclusion and glared at Harry.

“What do I have to do to get you to release my hand, Oh Holy Chosen Idiot?”

“Kiss me.”

Hermione saw Draco frowning and then grinning at her best friend. “And that’s all?”

“For now.”

Harry’s full attention was on the Slytherin and he raised his free hand, ran it through Draco’s hair and pushed some strains of hair back. Even though Hermione felt as if she was intruding, she couldn’t stop watching these two. Both were incredible careful with each other, teasing and clearly in love. Even a blind person could see that.

And then Draco leaned down, doing that thing which Hermione never understood, but Harry apparently loved. She felt just a little guilty for knowing that, but once again, she couldn’t stop watching the two love birds.

Draco hovered over Harry’s lips, not moving and her best friend had his eyes closed, breathing slightly faster. Only a small movement was necessary on any of the men’s part and the two would be kissing. It seemed to take forever and Hermione decided to look away, already intruding way too much. On the other hand, they were basically in public, so they shouldn’t be surprised if people were watching.

After a while, where she had looked after Ron who was still fast asleep, she looked back at Draco and Harry. The latter was now sitting on Draco’s lap, not willing to give him his book back and the Slytherin tried every method he could, including softly tickling his boyfriend and almost kissing him senseless. Before they could continue, Millicent sat down next to them and grinned at the two boys who in turn frowned at her.

“Do you guys remember when we came up here one morning and you were talking to each other?” she asked smirking.

Draco sighed. “Mil, it’s been more than half a year. We have been sitting here talking basically every day.”

“Yes, but that particular time there wasn’t any space left on the couch, so I told Neville to scotch over, to finally get Hanna and him talking?”

Hermione looked over to Neville and Hanna and smiled when they were sitting at a table together, doing homework. She quickly turned back to the three people on the sofa, as not to miss anything.

Harry was already laughing silently, but Draco frowned at Millicent and the man on his lap. Hermione also didn’t quite catch on to what was going on. Luckily, Harry turned to his boyfriend and told him what happened, once he could breath normally again.

“Remember how Millicent told me that if even more people were coming, I should sit on your lap?” he grinned and the Slytherin girl laughed loudly.

“And how you told me, I should sit on Draco’s lap! Do you still want me to…”

“No!” both men said at the same time and after looking at each other, stay started laughing and Draco pulled Harry tighter towards his own body. Millicent was chuckling as well, winked at the two of them and left to join Fay and Sophie in arguing against the boy’s Quidditch strategies.

Draco kissed Harry’s cheek and his forehead, before whispering something into his ear, which Hermione sadly didn’t catch. It made her best friend smile broadly and kiss his boyfriend, before nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

After a few silent moments, Hermione saw how Harry's breathing was slowing down and he visibly relaxed. She was suddenly sure that Harry had fallen asleep. Draco looked up and caught her staring. He simply smirked.

“Today seems to be your _Potter-Malfoy-watching Day_ ” he grinned and Hermione rolled her eyes.

“That’s not a thing and don’t let Harry hear that.”

Draco put his arms around Harry even more and kissed the top of his head. “That won’t happen, Hermione. However, answer me a question: Why do you continuously watch Harry and me?”

She felt just a little caught and guilty, but she smiled at the Slytherin anyway. “I’m always surprised how amazing you two are together. Harry needs someone like you. Someone who doesn’t love him for being the Boy Who Lived, but for the incredible, amazing human being he has become over the years. And something tells me, Draco Malfoy, that you are exactly the man for him.”

Draco smiled and nodded silently. He stroked Harry’s hair softly. “I do try, Hermione.”

“You’re amazing at it.”

Smiling, Draco bid good night, picked up Harry and walked down towards their dormitory, where James, Remus and Sirius were looking after Teddy. Hermione smiled at her sleeping boyfriend and shook her head slowly. Who would have thought at the beginning of the year that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy would become so close? She would have never bet on it – although, maybe she would have.


	83. Time and Time again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco wants to introduce Harry to his friends as his boyfriend.

Harry looked around the Three Broomsticks and bit his lower lip. There weren’t that many people here, as it was a Thursday evening and only a handful of Hogwarts students were walking around in Hogsmeade and none of them were visiting the pub.

“Draco, I don’t think I should be here!”

His boyfriend had convinced him to finally meet his friends. Well, some of his friends. Goyle was in Russia and couldn’t just come to England for one night, Zabini was no longer his friend and that only left Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott, his newest friend.

To say Harry was nervous was an understatement. He was sure that Draco hadn’t told any of them that he was his boyfriend. So they would be very surprised to see him there and as much as Draco didn’t think it was a problem… Harry saw so many problems, he would have loved to hide under the Invisibility Cloak (which was in his trunk up in Hogwarts) right this second.

However, there was no time, as the door opened and Nott walked in. Harry jumped up and said he was going to grab the beer from the bar so the two Slytherins could talk in quiet. Draco just laughed, but nodded, granting him the search for security. After he stood at the bar for a long time, he turned towards Draco and saw three Snakes sitting at the table.

 _You can do this! You fought Voldemort, and that was way scarier than this, right?!_ , Harry tried to comfort himself. It didn’t really work, but he grabbed the four beers anyway and made it over to his boyfriend.

“Hey everyone. Here’s your beer.”

Parkinson looked up and smirked one of those Slytherin smirks which Harry absolutely hated. “Oh look at that! The holy Savior, serving drinks in a pub. That’s quite the low after all, isn’t it?” she asked quite conceitedly.

Harry saw Draco frown and even Nott turned a questioning glance at her. “No, Parkinson, I’m just bringing you beer. If you've learnt how to count, you’d see that there are three of you but four beers” Harry answered and sat down next to Draco, not really sure if he’d overstepped.

Considering Parkinson’s reaction, he had very well overstepped, but Nott had serious trouble biting back a laugh and Draco slightly squeezed his thigh under the table. Neither man seemed to be angry at what he had told her.

“Unbelievable! Draco, do you not see how he treats me?! And now what?” she turned towards Harry without waiting for an answer. “Do you think, because you brought one more beer, you can stay here with us? Where are your idiot friends, go sit with them!”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “No thanks.”

This simple answer made her shut up pretty quickly, at least for a while.

“Pansy, come on!” Draco finally started talking. “I told you guys in my letter that I wanted you to meet my boyfriend!”

“So?!” Parkinson asked, but she sat up straight rather quickly and looked from Draco to Harry and back. “Oh, you must be kidding, Draco! Him?! He’s a no good, not even worth your smallest attention…”

Harry stood up. He didn’t need to hear Parkinson tell Draco all the bad things she could find about him. “Well, I’ll see you around” he told his boyfriend and walked away. Yes, it wasn’t the best choice, especially when he caught Draco’s sad but pleading look.

Truth was, as much as he loved Draco, he needed to look out for himself as well. And Pansy Parkinson talking stupid things about him was not on the list of things he enjoyed. So, yes. Walking away it was. He was going to explain it to Draco in a while, but not now.

When he reached the door, a hand on his shoulder made him stop. He turned around, about to tell Draco what he thought of it, when he was faced with Theodore Nott.

“Sorry, Potter, could we talk?”

Harry narrowed his eyes, but nodded eventually.

Nott smiled and they sat down at the empty table near the door. “I’m really happy for the two of you, I have to say.” The Slytherin looked over to Draco, who was in a heated discussion with Parkinson. “I haven’t seen him this happy in ages. Well…” Nott turned back and grinned. “…not right now, but in general as of lately.”

Harry smirked, even though he didn’t want to. “Thanks, I guess.”

Their discussion was a little awkward at first, but eventually, once Theodore told him how he became such a good friend of Draco’s, they had formed their own small friendship. Or agreement of getting along with each other.

Actually, they got along so well that in no time, they were joking with each other and mildly insulting each other, which Harry had learnt rather fast was proof that a Slytherin liked you. By the time Draco stood next to the table, Theodore had just spoken an insult about Harry’s hair, which made both of them laugh.

“What the hell, is going on here?” Draco asked and sat down, while he placed the beer on the table. “Don’t you dare cut off your hair, Potter!”

Harry grinned. “Don’t worry, _Malfoy_. Theodore here just told me that he had a huge crush on you during fifth year!”

“I did admit to no such thing, Potter!” Theodore answered and Harry laughed as he saw Draco’s confused and slightly scared expression.

Still observing Draco, Harry grabbed his beer. He saw him closing his eyes quickly and shaking his head. “Well, at least you two are having fun.”

Theodore sighed. “We both know that Pansy’s not really a fan of Harry’s. Considering all that happened.”

He looked at Harry and gave him an apologizing look, however, Harry only shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, I am the only reason why she couldn’t finish Hogwarts this year. So… I didn’t expect anything else to happen. I’m actually surprised that you don’t hate me…”

“If you give me a good enough reason, I might change my mind” Theodore grinned and Harry rolled his eyes, while Draco laughed and kissed Harry’s cheek.

“Thank you, Theo!”

They stayed in the Three Broomsticks for another hour, talking about nothing in particular and ended up enjoyed each other’s company very much. Harry had to admit that he liked Draco’s friend and he was happy that at least one Slytherin friend remained with him (well, except for Goyle who was a little far away).

*

The next morning, when Harry woke up, he was alone. Draco had apparently already left. There was a note on his bed that read that he was going on a walk with Teddy and that maybe Harry should check the pile of Time Turner books. Frowning, Harry got up and looked at the books next to the footboard. And there, right on top was a parchment. He picked it up, looked at the beautiful cursive for the longest time and started to read with wide eyes.

> _This is for the love of my life._
> 
> _You have asked me to write you a love letter. However, I don’t really know how to write one, and before you ask me, I might have done some research on this topic. And I hate it. I hate everything about my research, because nothing can be good enough for you._
> 
> _You, Harry James Potter, are perfect. You deserve something perfect. None of the ideas of love letters I found were perfect enough. So, I give you here my very own definitely not perfect love letter. However, it’s been written with all the feelings I never knew I had and that I’ve kept hidden for so long – until I realized that you had the same feelings for me._
> 
> _I love you. I love everything about you. Your unruly hair that looks impossible in the morning and only I seem to be able to work through it. I love your smile when you wake up, it looks so innocent and happy as if you have forgotten every hardship you went through. And yes, I will mention your eyes, even though you probably don’t like it. They look like green emeralds or a deep part of a beautiful sea._
> 
> _You have always been a constant in my life. Yes, we probably hated each other during our first few years, but I can’t think of anyone who had this impact on me. Especially in recent years, you had an impact on me. You saved me. And I know what you’re thinking: I’m the Savior so yes, I save people._
> 
> _Yes. Yes, you do. You saved the whole Wizarding World, but you saved me on an entirely different level. My life wasn’t going anywhere until I got to know you better. You are my light. You are my lumos. I will always need you to walk through dark places. I will always need you to stay close when it’s cold and dark, because you keep me warm. You give me hope and you are mine._
> 
> _You are mine. No one can take you away (if you don’t want to) and I will never let you go. I will fight anyone for you. I will always remind you of our first date or second date (but we both know that mine was better) and maybe this will prove to you that I love you._
> 
> _I want to build my future with you. And I do not care what it has in store for us, because with you by my side, I know we can get through everything. I want to take you on a trip around Europe for at least a month, definitely France. We would enjoy life, because I know that we both need that. Maybe I have also heard someone talk about adopting children… which I wouldn’t be appalled at. You want to build your very own happy family and I do believe that you can do that. That we can do this._
> 
> _We haven’t even been together for half a year, but it feels as if it took forever. I feel so connected to you, as if it was meant to be. And I know you feel it too. You are everything I need in my life. I do not care what happens, as long as I got you I know that nothing bad can happen. You are my life source._
> 
> _You are my magic._
> 
> _I love you._
> 
> _Forever yours,_
> 
> _Draco Lucius Malfoy._
> 
> _  
> PS. If Angelica tells you she read the letter, that is so not true and I definitely did not consult her on how to write a love letter or ask her to read through my final draft just in case I made a huge mistake. Ignore everything she wants to discuss with you about this! Everything’s a lie!_

Harry sat on his bed, reading through the letter again, chuckling at the PS message and wiping another tear from his eyes. This man was going to be the death of him. 

He actually wrote him a letter. And yes, Draco called it everything but perfect. Harry had to admit, it was just right, even better than perfect. He knew such a word existed, but the letter seemed to have taken away all of his vocabulary. 

Harry had no idea how to react to that letter. He sat on his bed, marveling at it and unable to decide what to do next, except maybe crying because it was so beautiful.

Luckily, he was saved by Hermione, who knocked at his door wanting to let him know that classes started in half an hour and that Slughorn wouldn’t be happy with him missing more Potions classes. Luckily, it was Friday, so they only had three lessons, well everyone except Hermione (and the marauders).

In Potions, Draco already sat at their table and grinned at Harry as he walked closer.

“You know, even though you think you’re not romantic, you are such an incorrigibly romantic” Harry greeted him sitting down.

Draco huffed, but grinned. “I am not.”

Harry smirked. “I have your love letter with me; I could just start reading it aloud and everyone would hear it…”

His boyfriend shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think you’d want that, calinours. If you call me romantic, you are the god of all things romantic. You love it. All of it. So I don’t think you’d destroy a love gesture just to threaten me.”

Rolling his eyes, Harry turned towards Slughorn who just entered the room. “I hate it when you’re correct” he whispered towards his boyfriend who chuckled quietly.

The Potions’ Professor had a very interesting offer today. “We are going to brew some Veritaserum. However, I would like for you to modify it as best as you can. I think we’re working in groups again, as we only have one lesson: Granger, Bones; Weasley, Bulstrode; Potter, Malfoy; Goldstein, Macmillan.”

Everyone changed placed and waited for some more instructions. “Group one” he pointed at Hermione. “I need you to give me a Veritaserum that tastes like vanilla, so no one would think twice about adding it.”

Harry held his breath. This was going to be a little more complicated that he had thought. Veritaserum didn’t taste like anything. Now Hermione’s group had to make it taste like something specific? That was going to be a challenge. Depending on what you added to Veritaserum, the effect could change.

“Group two” Ron’s eyes grew wider and Harry could see how he was actually scared of what was going on. “Give me Veritaserum in a consistency of the Muggle sweet cotton candy.”

He turned towards Harry and Draco, but Harry didn’t have time to be scared, as Slughorn started talking immediately. "Group three, I need you to make Veritaserum that becomes ineffective when added into water.”

What?! Harry frowned and turned towards Draco who shook his head. Veritaserum was basically made for water use only!

Slughorn had already turned towards group four, who seemed to be very scared. “Group four, your Veritaserum should transfigure into tiny rocks when taken off the heat.”

All four groups stood there for a second, pondering over what just happened, when Slughorn started the timer at the front. Harry just wanted to run towards the cabinet with all the ingredients, when Draco held him back.

“Let’s think, Harry. We can’t just brew the potion and add something later. What could be add or leave for it to become worthless in water?” he frowned and Harry turned towards the potions book, though not happy having to wait, while everyone else was charging around the room getting all kinds of different things.

Thanks to Draco’s amazing talent, they ended up with a potion that did absolutely nothing when added to water or something made with water. Actually, everyone seemed to be at least mildly successful.

Once the lesson was over, Slughorn held Draco back and Harry stopped hesitantly at the door, not really willing to listen in on their discussion but also not in the mood to leave Draco alone. It didn’t take long for the Slytherin to appear next to him.

He was grinning from ear to ear and winked at Harry, who frowned in return.

“What happened, dragonfly?”

The blond wizard laughed and turned around to walk backwards while talking to Harry. “Slughorn just asked me if I’d be interested in becoming a Potion’s Master and that he would be my mentor if I wanted to.”

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and just stared. “Wha… That's amazing, Draco!”

The other wizard nodded and it looked like he was smiling even broader though Harry had previously doubted that was even possible. “But I’m not taking it.”

“What…? Draco… Why…? That doesn’t make any sense! I thought you wanted to become a Potion’s Master!”

Draco smiled. “I did, but I got an offer which I actually like even more.”

Harry held the Slytherin back, before he could walk away and frowned. “And you didn’t tell me? What’s the offer?”

“Well, firstly, I needed to think about it for a while, secondly, it happened while we were separated and I don’t know how this would have worked…”

“Draco!” Harry rolled his eyes. He wanted to know what offer he got! What could possibly be better than having Slughorn as his mentor? “If you don’t tell me, I might have to call you Dray from now on.”

The Slytherin narrowed his eyes. “Oh, you wouldn’t dare!”

Since Harry stayed quiet and only raised his eyebrows, Draco sighed and held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. I got a job on the Potions Research Team in St. Mungo’s. It’s not only research but also adapting potions and medicaments to what the patients need. My Dreamless Sleep Potion was so good that they wanted me to keep on adapting other potions towards less addicting ingredients. They also convinced all the pharmacists not to sell any other Dreamless Sleep, but mine. And everyone’ll know about it, since they’re going to the press with this information next week.”

Harry didn’t know what to say, he just stood there, looking at Draco, who seemed to be overjoyed about the opportunity he was given. That was fantastic news! Harry couldn’t stop but being incredibly happy for him as well!


	84. Good-bye for now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time. The marauders can go home.

Time flew by. Harry only realized this when Kingsley nodded at the bunch of them and left through the floo. McGonagall looked at all of them questioning, but her eyes landed on him eventually.

“So, this is it?” James asked before anyone could say anything else. “They fixed the Time Turner and we can go back home?”

McGonagall nodded. “I believe that is exactly so. This is your last night in the future, tomorrow at ten you’ll be sent back to your original time line.”

Everyone was quiet. Hermione and Ron looked from the marauders to Harry and back. All the boys also stared at Harry and he didn’t feel quite so comfortable anymore. He felt his heart beat rising and it was suddenly incredibly hard to breathe. Luckily, there was also Draco, who put his arms around Harry’s waist and pulled him towards his own body.

This action calmed him down pretty fast and he was able to breathe normally again. He had always hoped that they would go home soon, but them actually going home… It was harder than he had thought originally. All three had become so close… He didn’t want to live without them again. They were all important people…

Draco pulled him closer for a second and Harry focused on the discussion in front of him once again. McGonagall just told the three time travelers to go look for everything they had taken with them and change into their old school uniform tomorrow, so that time wouldn’t get confused.

With that, they walked back through the dark corridors – Hermione and Ron at the front, then the marauders and Draco and Harry at the back. The Slytherin was holding his hand tightly as a sign of comfort and he was incredibly happy about that.

Since it was already late, Hermione and Ron took Teddy into their care and Harry (Draco following closely) decided to stay the night in his father’s and friend’s room, talking for the very last time. Apparently, James, Sirius and Remus had the same idea as they welcomed both men into their room immediately.

“Are you okay?” Sirius asked after a while of silence.

Harry nodded and smiled. “The bigger question would be: Are you guys okay?”

Once again, everyone was quiet, but Remus grinned after a while. “I am very much okay. I’m glad you’re Teddy’s father and I know you care a lot about him. I know I’ve made the best decision for his future. I just can’t believe that anybody would ever love a werewolf…”

“Don’t worry about that” Harry smiled. He remembered the fights Tonks and Remus always had about exactly that topic. “You’ll find out.”

Sirius was quite clearly a little sad. “Well, I wish I could do something so your past would be better.” Before Harry could say anything and even feel the fear flicker in his stomach, he spoke again. “But knowing that you’ll be okay… that’s probably something that’s going to keep me alive.”

Harry nodded.

“You guys hated each other when you were younger, right?” Remus asked with a smirk on his face.

“Pretty much, yes” Draco answered and grinned. As if he wanted to show everyone that this wasn’t the case anymore, he pulled Harry onto his lap and put his arms around him, while Harry leaned onto the Slytherin’s chest.

Remus laughed. “Well, I’m going to enjoy seeing you two hating each other and knowing that in the future you will be husbands.”

“We are not married, yet, Remus” Harry rolled his eyes. He could feel Draco silently laughing and glared at his boyfriend.

James hadn’t said anything and once Harry looked at him, everyone else did so as well. It was probably the hardest for his father, as he couldn’t really spend much time with his son and get to know him.

“You know” he started after some silence. “I would love to change the history and you know why” he looked at Harry smiling sadly. “But I won’t. I’ll pretend to be good friends with Peter. I’ll make him the Secret Keeper and get myself in danger. Because I know that in the end, I have this special knowledge about your future and I know that everything will turn around eventually.”

Silence rushed through the room again, as Harry pushed himself deeper into Draco’s hug, not entirely sure whether he should cry, laugh or tell his father that he loved him for his courage of knowing that he would have to die to start all the chain of events. It wasn’t necessary to tell him that, since they nodded at each other, both knowing exactly what the other had meant.

Remus got up and pulled something out of under the bed. “Do not ask us how we made money, but I’ve bought something for you as a good-bye present.” 

Harry could see that it was a book by the way it had been wrapped. When he carefully opened it, it actually was a big book with a dark red velvet cover and title was in cursive lettering: ‘How to work in your own company’. It was beautiful and quite clearly expensive, but Harry didn’t remember telling them what he wanted to do after Hogwarts.

“Well, Sirius might have heard you telling Ginny that you wanted to open up an orphanage and I think it’s an amazing idea and we definitely support that!” Remus explained and Sirius looked away almost immediately.

Draco kissed Harry’s cheek and rubbed his arms softly. Harry thanked Remus and looked through the index. There were so many interesting and important things inside, that he knew he could use this book in his quest of helping others. Well, Draco would say that he’d be saving them…

James stood up and gave Harry another present. “This one’s mine. Basically everyone who knew about our situation also helped me with this present.”

Frowning, Harry opened it up and saw a photo album. The title picture was the three of them standing in front of the wall with all the names of fallen one’s. It was incredibly stupid and funny at the same time. He looked through it and found pictured of himself with all the different marauders as well as his friends with him and the marauders. It was to most innocent and amazing present he had ever gotten. The end, however, was full of pictures of him and Draco. Sleeping while hugging, sitting around the Christmas tree in the Burrow, having snow ball fights and the last one was a kiss under a mistletoe.

It looked like Draco hadn’t seen all of those pictures at the back as well. He raised an eyebrow at James, who grinned from ear to ear.

“You see, everyone made pictures of us, because I wanted to give them to you, but we made pictures as well and I think it’s important to keep those together.”

“You are just terrible, James” Draco said and shook his head, while Harry chuckled silently.

Sirius got up and left, while Remus turned to Harry once again. "I've made something similar for Teddy. If he asks for his father or mother and you think it's time tell him, could you give that to him?" He held out a small book with a blue cover and Harry smiled, accepting the photo album for Teddy.

Before Harry could ask why Sirius left, the boy came back with a puppy in his arms. It looked exactly like Sirius’ Animagus. When his godfather placed the dog on Harry’s lap, he barked once and pushed himself at Harry.

“I didn’t know what to give you, but I think you could need a little four legged helper. And before you ask, yes I’ve had it cleared with McGonagall, she’s going to give you special permission, as you are having a Mind Healer and this dog could be something she’d give you as well” Sirius explained and his eyes were glowing.

Harry petted the dog softly and smiled broadly, when he licked his hand. “Thank you so much, Sirius! Does it have a name? And is it a boy or a girl?”

“Boy and no, he doesn’t have a name, yet.”

Draco petted the dog as well and he didn’t seem to care who the person was petting him, as long as he got attention. Harry grinned and looked up at his godfather again.

“I think I’ll call him Sirius.”

Everyone was quiet and Sirius even started to tear up. Draco hugged Harry again and kissed his cheek, before whispering that he had made one of the best decision ever. Harry on the other hand really wanted to tell him that the best decision he had ever made, was being together with Draco, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it right now with his godfather in tears over the little puppy.

“Just a question, though” Draco asked quietly and when Harry turned a little to look at him, he saw this spark in his eyes and grinned. “Shouldn’t it be my responsibility as your boyfriend to give you flowers, chocolate and puppies?”

*

The next day was here way too soon. During breakfast, no one was really able to eat something and even though Harry tried his best to hide that he hadn’t eaten anything, Draco made him at least eat one piece of toast and drink his tea. However, Harry had to rush to the toilet and puke. His nervousness was so high that he couldn't eat anything. Draco then brought him some dry bread, which actually worked after all.

In McGonagall’s office, Kingsley was already standing there and waiting, once they entered it. Harry was shaking slightly, though to him it felt like he was tumbling around the office. Draco was immediately by his side, holding him closely.

The Minister had the fixed Time Turner in his hands, while the headmistress gave Remus a parchment, which was probably meant for the headmaster, namely Dumbledore, in the past.

Before James, Sirius and Remus went to Kingsley to travel through time once again, they hugged Hermione and Ron and thanked them for being nice to them, they thanked Draco for taking care of Harry, which made him roll his eyes – actually Harry and Draco at the same time. And they hugged Harry tightly and told him that everything was going to be just fine.

So they walked up to Kingsley, he placed the Time Turner around them and explained that they had already tested it and that it worked rather well. He also explained that they had to give it to Dumbledore, along with the letter from McGonagall.

Harry couldn’t look at what happened after that, since Kingsley started turning it and making it about to go off. He turned his back towards the time travelers and hid his face in Draco’s chest, when he felt strong arms around his lower back, pulling him closer.

“It’s going to be okay, calinours” Draco whispered continuously into his ear and he calmly rubbed his hands over Harry’s back.

He knew. Harry knew that everything was going to be okay. That was how Time Turners worked. Everything already happened. History is set in stone… Still: There was this existential fear inside his body. He felt his heart clench and held his breath when he heard how Kingsley stopped counting the turns.

If there was one thing, Harry wanted more than anything it was to run away. But he couldn’t. He needed to be there for his past, so he turned his head and looked at all the three boys.

“Good luck” he said and nodded at them. His voice was unbelievably calm for all the emotions going through his mind and body.

James smiled. “We don’t need luck. We already know everything.”

Kingsley gave Remus the Time Turner and stepped back. Draco held onto Harry even tighter as if he had read his mind and knew that Harry needed this more than anything.

Remus and Sirius waved at Hermione and Ron, and grinned at Harry.

“See you around, Harry!” Sirius grinned.

“I’m looking forward to meeting you once I’m an adult!” Remus answered grinning and nodded at Kingsley when he told them to let go and travel back.

The second Remus let go, Harry hid his face back in Draco’s chest and he heard something that sounded like a faint explosion sound. His anxiety reached another high and he held onto Draco for dear life. It took hours for him not to tremble again. Or at least it felt like it. It felt like he couldn't breath again and as if he was about to stop existing.

Was he still alive? Maybe he was about to dissolve into thin air or…

Before he could think about more things, Draco pulled him even closer and calmly whispered: “It’s okay, love. They’re gone. You’re still alive and here in my arms. Nothing’s changed. I still love you!”

Harry exhaled shakingly, looked at Draco for the longest time, searching for some truths and love (of which he found both) and turned to the place where his past had been standing a few seconds ago.

They were gone.


	85. Epilogue 1: New Perspectives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens to Harry and Draco right after the marauders disappear?

If anyone would have told Harry at the beginning of his eighth year at Hogwarts that he would fall in love with Draco, actually have a stable relationship with this Slytherin, meet his dead father and friends and adopt Teddy, he would have probably sent them to St. Mungo’s.

But right now, it didn’t seem all too off. Well, Harry felt off. It had nothing to do with all that happened, but more with having lived with his father for almost six months and them now being back in their own time line. At least Harry hadn’t stopped existing. For a second, all his fears about being erased from existence – even though they couldn’t be true – had been bubbling to the surface and he had despite his knowledge of Time Turners feared the worst.

Luckily, he had the most amazing people surrounding him. Angelica had helped him with everything and Teddy had always been here for him. Hermione had distracted him with studying and Ron with Quidditch, as they had asked McGonagall to invite some talent scouts, so the eighth year Quidditch team could fight the winner of the house cup in front of them. And then there was Draco, who had been nothing but helpful, lovely and amazing.

Two days after the marauders were back in their own life, a strange letter arrived from an unknown vault inside the Gringott’s bank. As it turned out, James hat opened a vault before he had died and written a letter to Harry as well as Draco. He had even convinced Lily to write a letter to him.

With tears in his eyes had he read the seven page long letter of his father and the five page letter from his mother. James had told him that he had just been born and that he wanted to tell him so many things. One of those things was that he was incredibly proud of the man Harry was going to become and that he should always trust his feelings. He was worthy of being loved and Draco was worthy being his husband. He actually wrote ‘husband’ and made both men blush from beyond the grave.

“I bet he loved to write that down” Draco grinned and showed Harry his letter, where he basically gave Draco his blessing for marrying Harry.

“Unbelievable. You should think that being back and knowing that you’re supposed to die should put the fear of God inside you.”

Draco laughed and shook his head. “Never for your father.” That made Harry sigh, but he chuckled as well.

The letter from Lily had been much more innocent, but it had the same meaning: she was happy to be his mother, she loved him very much and she was always going to be there for him. Through thick and thin. And in a way, she actually had always been with him.

Angelica had decided that he should continue therapy after he had finished Hogwarts and Harry had basically made her promise him to stay his Mind Healer. There was no way he was going to tell someone else all of his life. Angelica had been with him for far too long. Well, she had also told Draco to keep visiting him, once they were both out of Hogwarts.

She had also tasked Harry with a very important therapeutic task: He was supposed to write down everything concerning his life. It wasn’t really, as Harry pointed out, so he could have a book about his life, but worked as a medium for him to understand everything that happened to him.

And yes, Draco had been way too excited about the prospect of being able to finally write a foreword to Harry’s book, which he had just laughed about, but started with Chapter One anyway, because he felt like it.

After Teddy’s birthday, Draco had grabbed Harry, dragged him to the apparition spot and told him that he had a surprise for them. The Slytherin apparated them to a house outside of London, surrounded by green, more green and a lot more green.

It was a yellow painted two story house with a huge garden, big trees, flowers and a fence surrounding the property. Harry was speechless, he turned to face Draco, who smirked a little.

“I might have to confess something…” Draco started grinning. “Your father told me before he went back to his time line that I was going to get a letter with a vault number on the back. In said vault I should find enough money to buy a house for the three of us. Since the money was just waiting there, we have collected almost three times as much gold as there was originally. It’s his Christmas and birthday presents he couldn’t give to you. He told me to get the best house possible, one that doesn’t have memories of the war hiding in its walls.”

Harry turned back to the house, completely baffled and unable to form even one sentence. Draco bought a house?! James financed it?! These two men were completely crazy. He loved them both even more.

Turning back to face Draco, he smirked at his boyfriend. “Any chance we can take a look inside?”

The blond wizard took a small key out of his pockets and grinned. “Actually quite a high chance, love.” With that he gave him the key and opened the gate for him.

Harry felt like a small child as he walked by Draco with a stupid grin on his face. His boyfriend definitely didn’t seem to care, as he grabbed his hand and they walked up the little path with white pebbles to the front door.

Slowly, as if he was scared to wake up from this beautiful dream, Harry opened the door and looked into the house.

“Why don’t you open the door wide, love?”

Harry chuckled and turned around to hug Draco once again. This surprised the Slytherin, but he laughed and returned the hug even tighter. “You are a strange creature, Harry James Potter.”

Once he could free himself from Draco, he opened the door to find Sirius sitting on the floor inside an empty room. Once he recognized his humans, he barked happily and jumped around the two men.

“What is Sirius doing here?!” Harry asked grinning from ear to ear.

“Mother wanted to take care of him until we’re out of Hogwarts, but on her first day, she had to go and talk to Father, apparently you talking to him not only fixed my relationship with him, but also Mother’s.”

Harry chuckled and played with little Sirius for a while. He then started to look around the house. The walls were white and the front of the house was open. To the back, there were three doors and to his right at the wall there was a white staircase leading up to the second floor (and a secret door next to the stairs). The one thing that surprised Harry was that there was space under the stairs, but no actual cupboard.

When he wanted to ask Draco about this, the Slytherin had already caught on to what Harry was thinking about.

“Harry, I will not ever let you even as much as touch a cupboard under the stairs. That is now and forever will be the past. I actually thought that maybe Sirius would love this as a place where he could sleep the days away.”

He never had to touch a cupboard under the stairs again? It didn’t exist in his house. His house. He turned to face Draco, tears in his eyes and fell around the other man’s neck.

“You are the best man that ever existed, Draco.”

“Definitely not, calinours. But I’m flattered you think so.”

Harry shook his head. “Stop selling yourself short, dragonfly!”

Draco chuckled and kissed him slowly, walking him backwards. In the end, Harry almost fell over Sirius who was running wild around the house.

“Come on, love. Let me show you the rest of the house. It’s got a lot of windows and you’re going to love the kitchen!”

“Because I have to stay in there for most of the day?” Harry asked grinning.

Draco raised his eyebrows. “If you continue to stay this cocky then yes.”

Harry just wanted to answer that, when his boyfriend effectively silenced him with a kiss. Or two, or three. As if Harry was counting…

Without even realizing, they had entered the kitchen and Harry stopped dead in his tracks. It was a huge room, with everything he could have wanted to cook something. Granted, he loved to cook, but how did Draco know this?! Someone had to have told him, because it had a lot of things that Harry was sure Draco had no idea how to use. All of that pointed towards Hermione.

The Slytherin wasn’t finished, as he grabbed his hand and led him to a big window, which actually worked as a door into the garden. Harry held his hands in front of his mouth. They entered the porch outside. This was what he had always dreamed of as a child. A big house, a huge garden with trees and… something caught his attention very quickly.

“Are those pine trees?”

Draco blushed a little and Harry walked into the garden, closer towards the trees that actually turned out to be pine trees. Underneath stood a bench, surrounded by rose bushes. Harry stopped dead in his tracks. The only thing missing was chocolate. Then there were all three components there that reminded him of Draco.

He turned around to look at his boyfriend, completely astonished at how much work he had put into their future. Draco still seemed to be a little embarrassed, but he looked at Harry smiling.

“You know, just in case you miss me and I have to work late. That way, you can sit here and wait for me to take you back to reality” he said and quickly added “I know, I know it’s cheesy and all that, but once I had this idea I couldn’t ignore it.”

“Draco, I love it!” Harry pulled Draco closer and kissed him deeply. 

The only interruption was a barking Sirius, chasing a bird around the yard. Harry laughed and looked at Draco, who seemed to be equally as happy with what he had accomplished.

They walked back inside, Sirius following once the bird had flown over the fence to a secure place. There was a bathroom with a bathtub and toilet on the ground floor, as well as a smaller bedroom which could very well function as an office, facing the pine trees and rose bushes. In the end, Harry found a hidden door that was going into the basement, where Draco had already started to build his potion’s heaven.

“I guess that leaves the small bedroom as my office?” Harry asked as they climbed up the stairs to the main floor. Draco winked at him and nodded.

The next floor had a master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom, four smaller bedrooms and a bathroom with a shower and bathtub. And all the doors (except for the ensuite bathroom) came to meet in a circle once you climbed up the stairs.

“Draco, I am in love!”

The Slytherin burst out laughing and shook his head. “I sure hope, _I_ am the one you’re in love with!”

“Well, you need to move over, because I love this house! How could you find such a perfect home?!”

“A friend of Mother’s had been building a house for her entire family, but it turned out that her husband had been cheating on her and she decided to sell the house to someone who wouldn’t feel trapped in it. Once I saw it, I knew you would like it” Draco explained.

Harry smiled and rolled his eyes. “Well, I am sorry for your mother’s friend, but thank goodness! It’s amazing. You are amazing, Draco Malfoy!”

Sirius barked from downstairs and the two men walked down again. In the kitchen, Harry fed Sirius, and Draco took champagne out of the fridge.

“Would you like to celebrate, love?”

Nodding, Harry conjured two glasses and Draco poured the alcohol into the two flutes. “To our future” Draco proposed and Harry nodded, clinking their glasses.

Sirius was once again, running around outside, when Draco pulled Harry closer once again. “I have another proposition for you, concerning your past no less.”

“Don’t you think my past has been the topic for long enough?” Harry sighed and put down the champagne flute.

Draco nodded and kissed him softly. “I think so too, my love. But I think I need to change your association with the words Harry Hunting.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “What are you referring to?”

“Hide and seek, love. You’re going to hide and I’m hunting my love who just so happens to be called Harry. So… Harry Hunting.”

He couldn’t be mad at Draco. However there was basically nothing to hide in inside this empty house. He grinned and kissed his boyfriend. “I love you” he whispered and before Draco could have answered, he kissed him again. His hands ran over his body, slowly under the Slytherin’s sweater and he once again traced a scar he had made. The blond wizard shivered, but pulled him closer into his hug and kiss.

Once they finally separated, Draco was breathing heavily, having his eyes closed for a few more seconds. Harry looked at him mesmerized. Never would he have ever thought that he could be this happy!

Draco opened his eyes and grinned at him. “I love you too, you Chosen Idiot. Now go hide, I’ll count to ten.”

Harry raised his eyebrows. “What happens if you find me?”

“You’ll have to find out.”

Without any hurry, he left the kitchen and turned around in the living room, waiting for Draco to finish counting. He took in all the space and turned once again to the missing cupboard under the stairs. Draco was without a doubt the most amazing person he knew. He seemed to care so much for him and it made him wonder if there was something he could do for him. He hadn't much more time to think, as the blond wizard had reached ten and he screamed though the house “And the season for Harry Hunting is opened.”

Harry chuckled, when Draco walked out of the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks. He raised his eyebrows and smirked a little. “Is this the best you could come up with?”

“Pretty much, yes” Harry answered and shrugged his shoulders.

Draco slowly walked closer and Harry walked backwards at the same pace. Suddenly, the Slytherin bolted forwards; Harry jumped and ran up the stairs, laughing loudly. Draco was hot on his heels, caught him at the last step and threw him to the floor, climbing on top.

“I don’t think that’s how you play hide and seek, calinours.”

Harry chuckled, while Draco leaned closer. “I thought we were playing Harry Hunting.”

“Good point” the blond wizard whispered into Harry’s ear and kissed his neck. “So, here’s what happens if I catch you.”

He kissed his neck inch after inch and Harry tried his best to get out, but the Slytherin had all the power over him. Once Harry had stopped fighting him, however, he started tickling him and even this time, he couldn’t get free. Only once Sirius started barking like crazy, because he couldn’t walk through the magical barrier that Draco had created at the base of the stairs, did he stop.

“So? Do you like this new game?” Draco asked with a sly smirk on his face.

Harry chuckled and reached out to run his hands through Draco’s hair. “I don’t really care what game we’re playing, Draco. As long as I can be around you, I’ll accept anything.”

“Anything?”

Narrowing his eyes, Harry frowned. “You really know how to destroy a romantic gesture, Draco.”

Draco got off of him and pulled him back on his feet. “I don’t really mind destroying romantic things. I love you and that’s all that counts. Well… also: do you like the house?”

“Are you kidding me, Draco? I love the house! I can’t believe you did this for us! And I love you as well, my sweet dragonfly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are. Only once chapter to go.
> 
> As I already mentioned, I will post the last chapter on Sunday and if you feel like it, you can comment on what you think will happen. The title of this chapter is "Expected Arrival of the Past". If you want to comment on it, I'm interested to see what you think will happen.


	86. Epilogue 2: Expected Arrival of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four years after the eighth year of Hogwarts, we check in on Harry and Draco again.

When the floo in the living room of Grimmauld Place sounded, Harry frowned and walked out of the kitchen, looking at who would possibly want to travel over here. They were still in the middle of their renovations, though nearly finished.

The person that walked out was Draco Malfoy, looking around and rolling his eyes, once he saw him. “Harry, love, why are you here? It’s your free day! You should be at home!” The blond wizard was still in his working clothes and Harry checked the clock on the wall to see that… he had definitely spent the entire afternoon and part of the evening at Grimmauld Place.

“Sorry, dragonfly. I was visiting your mother and we had some tea and started talking about the financials of this house and your father offered to look at my financial plan for the next five years.”

“You never stop working, do you?” Draco sighed and stopped dead in his track, when he looked past Harry. He knew that his boyfriend never would have thought to meet his father inside Grimmauld Place, but there he was.

“Draco.” Lucius greeted his son and nodded once.

As if this had awoken Draco from his temporary trans-like state, he greeted his father back, but turned to Harry immediately after. He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. Harry had seen this look and gesture a few times already to know that he was in trouble.

“I heard from Angelica that you have adopted another child! Harry, you already have three children, you shouldn’t adopt more just for the sake of it. That’s why you’re building an orphanage, mon lapin.”

Yes, Draco was right, he was building an orphanage so that the children in his situation could be happy, but the last four years had been rather hard, since he had wanted this home to be done in a few months. However, something like that didn’t even work for the Golden Boy. He had also bought the house next to his and taken down the walls (the screaming painting just had to go). So now they had even more space for more children. Which also meant: more renovations.

“First of all, Draco, I told you to stop calling me ‘rabbit’. It’s neither sweet nor cute! Additionally, I doubt Angelica had told you that, she doesn’t go around talking about what I’ve done or told her. Secondly, Teddy loves her; they had been playing in the garden ever since I arrived to talk to the director of this orphanage. And Susi’s parents died in the war, because her parents refused to become Death Eaters. I couldn’t say no when Teddy asked me to make her his new sister” Harry tried to explain his action.

Draco sighed and shook his head, though Harry knew for a fact that he had understood. Lucius saw the silence in the air as a way to excuse himself and go back to his wife. He had the privilege to be out of Azkaban for a day and he probably wanted to spend more time with his… more calm family – namely Narcissa.

Harry walked back into the kitchen, aware that Draco was following him, and set up another tea for the two of them. Teddy, Amadeus and Lisa were with Ron and Hermione, Sirius as well. Draco sat down on the chair his father had vacated and looked at the numbers on a parchment. Harry already knew them all by heart.

He presented Draco with a cup of tea and smiled at his boyfriend. “I am sorry for just deciding to adopt her. I know we have enough children, but I can’t just sit there and see all the bad things and do nothing.”

The Slytherin nodded. He had accepted long ago that sometimes, Harry had urges that he couldn’t ignore one of those was adopting children who had gone through hell. Harry was sure that Draco didn’t want to know what that little girl went through, because he always tended to pick the worst cases.

Amadeus had been hurt by his father when his mother left. By that time he had been two years old and he had lived in fear ever since. He had once hurt himself so badly that he was brought to St. Mungo’s where Draco had gotten his case and saw what was really going on. It had been his mistake to tell Harry about that six year old boy, because two days later, Harry had adopted him.

And Lisa, she had been abandoned by both her parents, when she was an infant. The family she had to stay with used her as a no-cost help. The Wizarding Child Protection Service took her away when she was seven. When Harry had seen her two years ago in an orphanage he had visited to get an idea, he couldn’t ignore her story and adopted her fairly quickly as well.

Harry knew that Draco loved their little family to death, but he hated Harry’s tendencies to not think, but adopt.

“Who did tell you that I adopted another child, anyway?” Harry asked and sat down himself.

Draco grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “Have you met Tony at the front desk, where Angelica now works? He told me that you added another child, no; he congratulated me for a bigger family. Needless to say, he realized rather quickly that he had made a mistake, when he noticed that I didn’t know what he was talking about.”

Harry chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him! Next time, in two weeks, I’ll have to tell him not to give away my secrets.”

His boyfriend winked at him and pushed the parchment back. He got up and pulled Harry into a deep kiss. His hands moved through Harry’s hair, which thanks to Draco were always styled and also cut short on the sides (because he liked it better that way).

“I love you, you silly idiot. Now, let’s get home. You can work on that tomorrow as well” Draco decided and pulled Harry to his feet, walking him over to the floo, where Harry stopped and struggled against the Slytherin.

They stopped and Harry frowned at Draco. “Dragonfly, all our kids are still with Hermione and Ron, we can’t just leave them there!”

“Don’t worry, calinours. I’ve already talked to both of them and gave them your book. They’ll take care of everyone until tomorrow after lunch.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “How did you manage to do that? They weren’t happy when I left the children there. I think they were counting the hours until I would be back to get them.”

Draco grinned and shrugged his shoulders nonchalant. “I may have showed them the foreword in your book.”

This made Harry shut his mouth and he stared at Draco surprised. His book… His book was out today! He had totally missed the date! The book he had written about his entire life and about every secret had been long awaited. Draco had of course written the foreword and now it was time to read it. The Slytherin had vehemently spoken against him reading it before the book was published. His publisher had read it and decided that Draco had been right. Now, he could finally find out why no one was telling him anything about the foreword.

This book was about everything that had happened to him. All the people he had encountered. It explained the untold story of Snape, who wasn’t exactly a hero, but still worth something. It told the story of Dumbledore’s death, Lockhart’s downfall in the chamber (though Harry didn’t mention how to get in and he also explained that it no longer existed just in case people wanted to go look for it). And most of all, it explained the origin story of Voldemort. It wasn’t much a story only about Harry’s life, but also about everything that had happened before and during his stay at Hogwarts. The only thing he had decided not to tell anyone who read his book was the tale of their Horcrux hunt. Instead, he explained that Voldemort had placed secret weapons all along Britain and that he wanted to use them after he had gained power. And that Hermione, Ron and he were the only ones to know about this (next to Dumbledore who had told them). He felt better with an explanation like that and not the real one, since maybe there would have been people who were inspired by what he was writing in his book and decided to try and make a Horcrux themselves. Now, they didn’t have the chance.

“Well, what are we standing around here for?!” Harry asked and turned to walk home through the floo. Before he charged out of his own fire place, he heard Draco laughing loudly.

*

Home, sweet home. Harry stopped and inhaled another time. Something smelled sweet. Like… bananas.

Just then, Draco came out of the fire place, almost walking into him. He turned to the floo network and placed a incantation on it that wouldn’t allow anyone to walk in.

“What are you doing?” Harry wondered.

Draco smirked. “Making sure that we can finally have a little time for ourselves. Whenever we have a moment together, we get disrupted, mostly by your dear friend Ron. I just want to make sure that nothing like happens.”

Without saying anything else, he grabbed Harry’s hand and led him to the kitchen, where the smell actually came from. On the table, his book was standing next to some freshly baked banana cake. Grinning, Harry remembered their first date, where Draco’d had so many problems with baking a cake. It actually looked delicious, but Harry rather wanted to read the foreword. Maybe eat later.

He grabbed the book and sat down on the table, while Draco paced up and down for a short moment, seemingly looking for tea, though Harry was sure he looked very nervous. Hopefully, he hadn’t written something bad…

__

> _The foreword to ‘Your hero’s story: A Pig for Slaughter’. By Draco Malfoy_
> 
> _If you ask yourself how I, Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin and former Death Eater ended up writing the foreword for Harry Potter’s book, well, I believe you aren’t the only one. It had been a random comment during our eighth year at Hogwarts (of which you will be able to read a lot of) and once Harry finished writing this book, he asked me to write the foreword, about three and a half years later. This should be your first indicator of Harry Potter’s character. He never forgets a promise, even one he had made as a joke which then turned out to become reality._
> 
> _My childhood hadn’t been different than any of yours; I grew up knowing everything about the Boy Who Lived. Every article printed about him, I read greedily for every drop of additional information. That was all good – on paper. The Harry Potter, The Chosen One, I got to know wasn’t all that._
> 
> _The first few years he had been annoying. He hadn’t accepted my hand in friendship, so I wanted to make him pay. Granted, I was annoying as well, I bullied his friends – simply because they were his friends – and I tried to get him into trouble, though looking back at it, I think he was very good at getting into trouble all by himself._
> 
> _After a few years, I saw that there was something else to this hero figure. Something, most people tend to ignore when faced with their idol: he was just a human being. And during the war, in which we hadn’t had that much contact (you will read a scene in which we had in this book), he was scared as well. Just like anybody else._
> 
> _Harry Potter is just a human being, like you and me. And I do believe that this is why he decided to publish his story. For you to find out that your sacred Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, isn’t perfect. And he doesn’t have to be. Because we are all human beings. No one is perfect._
> 
> _So, enjoy this story about your perfect Chosen One and the not so perfect Harry Potter, who in the end perfectly saved the Wizarding World._
> 
> _Now, this part is directed to you, calinours. I’ve gotten to know you over the few years quite well and I’ve learnt to love all your flaws and perfections. The way you talk about what makes life worth living, what you want the future to look like, it can make everyone sit there for hours listening to you. You have been through so much, yet you stayed true to yourself and that is what I admire most about you._
> 
> _You know, I just said that no one’s perfect, everyone makes mistake, but the truth is: You are perfect to me._
> 
> _Most people already know that we are together, but – and I am sure you will be calling me out for this for the rest of our lives – I want everyone to know this. I want everyone to know how much you mean to me._
> 
> _Well, here goes nothing:_
> 
> _Harry James Potter, will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?_
> 
> _If so, I will be yours forever_
> 
> _Draco_

Harry stopped and read the last three lines again. Did that just happen? Did Draco actually propose to him in the foreword of a book about his life, which hundreds of people were going to read?!

When he looked up, he saw Draco smirking and observing him. All his nervousness had been gone. He had also changed from his working clothes and stood in the kitchen with a Weasley Jumper, actually the very first one he had gotten. Even though it wasn’t that cold, it was still early spring and some mornings still had frost-covered grass in the garden, not that this was the most important thing right now. “Well?”

Chuckling in disbelieve, Harry shook his head and turned back to the book, before looking back at Draco. “Are you for sure? You want to marry me?”

As if he had known he wouldn’t believe him at first, Draco got on one knee and took out a small box. Harry stopped breathing. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. The ring that was hiding inside was beautiful and Harry stared at it for the longest time.

“Harry James Potter. Will you marry me?” Draco asked quietly and Harry felt himself tear up immediately.

“Yes! Hell yes!” he coaxed and fell around Draco’s neck. That was definitely a dream! Did that just really happen?! Draco kissed his neck and pulled him to his feet, then gently pushed the ring on his finger.

They shared a deep kiss, before Draco pulled away and held up a hand. “I do have one condition, though…”

Harry started laughing and shook his head. “Only Draco Malfoy would ask to get married with a condition. Go ahead, dragonfly. What’s your condition?”

“I don’t want to keep my name. I don’t even want to hyphenate. I think the Malfoy name’s allowed to die now.”

“You want to be Draco Potter?”

Draco shuddered, but nodded and Harry smiled. “I think I can live with that” he said while winking at his boyf… no fiancé.

His _fiancé_ got up and brought him a piece of the banana cake, which Harry smiled over. “You seem to be quite a fan of this cake” he said winking at Draco.

The Slytherin sat down again and started eating his own cake. “Well, it reminds me of our first date. And I know for a fact that you seem to be more obsessed with that cake as you even put the recipe into your book. I mean, it’s pretty amazing how you explain to everyone how Muggle appliances work with the help of this book, but I wish it wouldn’t have happened in this chapter.”

Harry chuckled. Yes, he had put the recipe into the book, knowing that pretty much everyone would be eating this as soon as they’d find this cake. However, what Draco said wasn’t the case. He hadn’t made fun of Draco, simply mentioned that he had a few problems with the Muggle technologies and explained what all of those appliances did. He had never written anywhere that Draco hadn’t mastered them.

“You’re just jealous because you wanted to keep the recipe for ourselves, after Hermione and Ron had asked for it about every other month” Harry grinned and ate another piece.

Draco winked at him and smirked. “I would have been happy to keep them in the dark for another year or two.”

Harry burst out laughing and shook his head. “And that, dragonfly, is the difference between Gryffindor friends and Slytherin friends.”

*

It was a stunning day, almost a year later. A month ago, Harry had finally opened up the orphanage and now the stress of having a wedding… luckily he had the most supporting family ever. Ginny was made his best maid along with Hermione (Harry had offered Ron a post as well, but he had told him that planning wasn’t really his thing). Draco had chosen Gregory Goyle and Theodore Nott. These four people had worked day and night to guarantee as little stress as possible to both grooms.

And now, the day had arrived. Harry was hiding in their bedroom and looked down into the garden, seeing people sitting down on the chairs, looking right at the pine trees and rose bushes at the front. The rose leafs on the floor covering the way towards the altar were their own and Harry had loved the idea of this (Draco had collected them for five years for this exact moment). Their guest list had been huge – friends, families, Hogwarts professors and reporters. And of course: Angelica, their Mind Healer, who honestly counted as a friend by now. Ginny and Theo had worked through all the reporters and chosen the ones who had portrayed Draco the best during all the years (Harry’s wishes) and looking outside he saw most of them huddled up at the front to get the best possible picture.

He heard a door open and turned around to see his soon to be husband. Draco smiled at him broadly. He was wearing another midnight black three piece suit and the flaming red tie that reminded him every time of their first date. His hair was styled much better than when he was young, though he seemed to have reverted back towards using way too much hair gel. Harry knew exactly that this only happened when he was nervous. Controlling how he looked gave him the confidence he was lacking on the inside.

“Hey handsome” Draco smirked and walked inside. He grabbed Harry’s white jacket and told him to turn around again. Once Harry was wearing it, he placed the emerald tie around his neck and tied it expertly. Not that Harry couldn’t have done it himself, he just preferred Draco to do this. It was their moment. “Nervous?”

Smiling, Harry shook his head. “Not in the slightest. You?”

“I feel as if I’m not making it to the altar… Like falling to the ground and sobbing. I don’t think I can keep myself together, when you’re walking down the aisle.”

Harry chuckled and pulled Draco into a tight hug. “I told you, I could go first if you wanted, love! You don’t have to…”

“I’m not going second! What do you think happens if everyone turns around to see me sobbing and walking towards you? I think I might fall and just stay there for all eternity.”

Giving his fiancé a kiss on the temple, he pulled him back into his arms. “You are such a drama queen, Draco Lucius Malfoy. Everything’s going to be okay! And just so you know, I’m actually terrified to deliver my vows, that I might forget something or say something wrong or whatever… So you’re not the only scared one here.”

Draco nestled his head into the crook of Harry’s neck. They stayed like this for a few moments, until a knock brought them out of their moment. Ginny stood at the door and smirked at them.

“Why is it that every time I’m here, I’m destroying a moment you two have?!” she asked, though still smirking.

The only Slytherin in this room laughed. “Don’t worry, Ginny. You’re not destroying _every_ moment we have. Everything okay?”

Ginny nodded and stepped back. Harry laughed as he immediately recognized three people of his past: They resembled his godfather Sirius Black with his black almost uncombed hair, Remus Lupin, scars all over his face and light brown hair, and next to his friends, James Potter. His father. His hair just as untamable as his own (well, not anymore as Draco was taking care of it quite well). Though they looked a little older than the last time he had seen them all. About five years older to be exact.

“Well, look at that! I knew it wasn’t the last time we would see each other” Harry laughed and rolled his eyes.

James smiled and he did look so much more like an adult, they all did actually. It was amazing how five years could make someone look like that.

Sirius chuckled. “Well, you see, we couldn’t just watch you two get together and not be present at your wedding.”

“How did you even find out when and where our wedding would happen?” Draco asked and gently straightened Harry’s tie a little more.

“We guessed” James grinned.

Remus on the other hand rolled his eyes. “We travelled into the future, ten years from when we met you and looked at newspapers starting with two years after we met.”

Harry grinned. “Well, then. Welcome… back?”

“Where’s your Time Turner?” Draco asked and frowned at the three men. “If you broke it, I do not care about history or things like that, I will be killing you.”

Remus showed it and Draco snatched it right out of his hands. “You’ll get it back, once you want to travel back, but I’m not letting you keep this thing and break it once more.” 

The three marauders grinned at the Slytherin, but immediately rolled their eyes when Ginny placed some vials of Polyjuice Potion into their hands.

“Do you really think we’d let you stay here without that potion? There are reporters here!” Draco made it clear and Harry chuckled, when he saw them looking from one to the other.

“I liked you better when you weren’t so bossy five years ago” Sirius said and sighed.

“I have always been bossy, Sirius. You were just never part of all the people who received my bossiness” Draco smirked.

“Enough chit-chat, everyone!” Ginny interrupted them all and turned to the not so surprising addition to their wedding. “Drink your Polyjuice Potion, in the bedroom on the opposite there are three suits for you to wear and change quickly. We expected you a little earlier. The wedding will start whether you’re ready or not.”

The three marauders disappeared immediately and Ginny turned to Harry and Draco. “Ready, Draco? We’re going down already.”

“And give Harry time to run away?”

Harry burst out laughing and shook his head. “I would never ever run away from you, dragonfly. You know that.”

“Except if we’re playing Harry Hunting” Draco remarked, which earned him a glare and Ginny who apparently just wanted to ask what he was talking about but stopped at the last second.

Draco leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Harry’s lips. “I’ll be waiting, love.” With that Ginny and Draco disappeared and Harry was left looking outside the window again. He knew that he had the most smitten smile on his face, but he didn’t even care. His life had finally gotten meaning. Not only the children he was helping with his orphanage, but his personal life had become almost as important, if not more important to him.

From the window, he could actually see his fiancé walking outside, talking to different people so smooth and easily, as an outsider you would think that for him it was just another day. Harry had spent so many years and hours with him that he could see all the small details that proved to him that he was extremely nervous. He loved this man for his easy going attitude that everyone could see and feel and also for the deeper meaning only meant for him.

“You look like you’re about to puke chocolate hearts.”

Harry turned around and laughed. James stood there, leaning against the door frame and shaking his head. The suit fit quite well and with his blond hair he actually looked like a family connection on the Malfoy’s side.

“Thank you, James, I do feel exactly like that.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“You’re the one who started that.”

“I see my mistake now.”

Father and son both smirked and Harry turned around once again for a second to look down at Draco, who had absolutely no problem discussing anything with the guests. He looked so peaceful and happy. He could see Lucius, finally out of Azkaban, but still on probation. Kingsley had told Harry when Lucius was getting free, that he was not allowed to travel around as much as Draco did. However, the wedding was a huge exception and the elder Malfoy seemed to be quite happy for the scenery change.

“You know” James stood next to Harry and looked down as well. “When your mother and I married, I transformed Peter into a bear, so we could have our own ring bear. Of course Lily realized rather quickly that it wasn’t a real bear, but the first few seconds of pure terror were just amazing.”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Draco would kill me. And the bear as well, probably.” He turned to look at his father and grinned. “Also, Teddy’s our ring _bear_ and I will not take that away from him. Remus will freak out when he sees him. He looks so freaking cute in his little blue suit.”

They were interrupted by some fireworks (George had insisted on it and Draco had fought him for this decision. They ended up agreeing on not having any fireworks, but Harry had his suspicions that George and Ron for that matter had wanted to set some anyway.). Harry saw Draco’s furious face and chuckled slightly, when the Slytherin had himself under control in a matter of seconds. He was definitely boiling underneath the surface.

“We better head down, James. Otherwise, Draco will definitely explode.”

When they turned around, Theo was standing at the door frame and frowned at Harry. “Who’s James?” Before he even finished his question, he stared at James and widened his eyes. “Wait! Did you travel through time again to be at his wedding?”

Harry’s father raised his eyebrows. “How does he know what happened?”

“Everyone does” Harry grinned. “I wrote about it in my book.”

“Which after almost a year is still number one!” Theo pointed to the book that lay on the table. Harry frowned at it. Since when did that book lie on the table right next to the door. It was as if someone had placed it there so that James or any time traveler would see it.

James wanted to walk over, but Harry pulled him out of the room, as well as Theo and walked over to the bedroom where Sirius and Remus were getting ready. “I’m getting married, so get the hell out of my house and into my garden, everyone!”

He turned around and yelled downstairs “Sirius!”

Harry’s godfather stormed out of the bedroom and looked at him with wide eyes. He had flaming red hair and his surprised expression made Harry almost laugh out loud. “Sorry, Sirius, I was calling my dog!”

The black dog now jumped up the stairs and sat next to Harry’s feet.

“He’s so much better disciplined that you ever were, Sirius” Remus grinned and laughed at his friend’s glaring.

Harry fixed a black cloth around the dog’s neck and sent it to Draco. “Time to go outside, everyone!” he said and rolled his eyes towards Theo who was silently watching everything and laughing at the same time.

*

Draco’s vows were the most beautiful thing Harry had ever heard. At one time, he almost slipped into French and Harry knew that this happened whenever he had too many emotions to deal with. So, a wedding was one of those moments where it was almost natural for him to change between French and English. Narcissa had been beside him all the time, until Harry finally walked out, quite possibly translating whenever he had slipped up into French.

So, now it was Harry’s turn. After Draco said his vows, Harry felt himself tense up. He wanted this to be perfect; it had to be absolutely perfect. He opened his eyes and smiled at his soon-to-be-husband and opened his mouth to say his vows.

To the surprise of almost everyone (not Angelica, Hermione, Ginny and Narcissa, the latter having read over his speech) he started speaking in French.

“Mon amour”, he took a deep breath and saw Draco widen his eyes. The first part was easy: It was their first meeting. “La première fois que je t'ai vu, j'ai cru que tu étais le plus grand idiot que j'aie jamais rencontré.” He was speaking slowly, but he needed to concentrate on what to say next and how to speak to his best ability. Narcissa had trained his speech with him over the past two days and every time, they both were a crying mess by the end. He didn’t expect anything else right now. He took another deep breath and focused on the text in his head. The next sentence was about the war… “Et avec le temps, j'ai réalisé que j'avais raison, parce que nous nous battions de part de différents côtés.” Draco nodded softly. Harry squeezed his hands and smiled, before he started again. Time to talk about how they fell for each other.

“Au cours de notre dernière année à Hogwarts, j'ai appris à connaître le vrai toi et je suis tombé amoureux de toi. Ces dernières années avec toi ont été les plus heureuses de ma vie.” And there he saw Narcissa trying heavily to hold back the tears. Even Harry bit his lips and smiled at Draco, blinking faster to keep his tears at bay. Draco didn’t look much better, though for now he had only just said how much his life had changed and how their relationship had changed. He hadn’t even started with his promises, yet.

Harry cleared his throat and started again. So, the promises. “Alors, je promets de tenir notre amour comme un amour éternel. Je te promets de toujours chérir et partager tout. Je promets de t'aimer, d'être ton cœur et de garder une flamme pour toi dans le mien.” There were tears streaming down Draco’s face. Not only him; every other pureblood that understood what he was saying. Other witches and wizards were translating his speech into English so that everyone would understand what he was saying. No eyes were staying untouched and Harry forced himself to continue. He wasn’t finished just yet.

“Je voie de t’aimer comme tu m'aimes, à travers toutes les épreuves, les ténèbres et la douleur pour atteindre nos joies, nos espoirs, et avec honnêteté et foi. Toujours.” Draco nodded, he laughed nervously and squeezed Harry’s hands hard.

Everything after that was a blur. They were married, but all that counted to Harry were these stormy grey eyes that looked at him so lovingly, so happy and peacefully. This was how it was meant to be. After everything had quieted down a little, Draco took Harry’s arm and they went across the garden to sit underneath the pine trees.

“You learned French?” he asked quietly.

Harry nodded and smiled a little. “Ever since we left Hogwarts and just for this moment.”

“You, Harry James Potter, are incredible and I love you.”

“I love you too, Draco Lucius _Potter_ , I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mon amour, la première fois que je t'ai vu, j'ai cru que tu étais le plus grand idiot que j'aie jamais rencontré. = My love, the first time I saw you, I thought you were the biggest idiot, I would ever meet.
> 
> Et avec le temps, j'ai réalisé que j'avais raison, parce que nous nous battions de part de différents côtés. = And over time I realised that I was right, because we were fighting on different sides.
> 
> Au cours de notre dernière année à Hogwarts, j'ai appris à connaître le vrai toi et je suis tombé amoureux de toi. = In our last year at Hogwarts, I got to know the real you and I fell in love with you.
> 
> Ces dernières années avec toi ont été les plus heureuses de ma vie. = Those last years with you have been the happiest years in my life.
> 
> Alors, je promets de tenir notre amour comme un amour éternel. = So, I promise to hold our love as a love everlasting.
> 
> Je te promets de toujours chérir et partager tout. = I promise to you to always cherish and share in everything.
> 
> Je promets de t'aimer, d'être ton cœur et de garder une flamme pour toi dans le mien. = I promise to love you, to be your heart and to keep a flame for you in mine.
> 
> Je jure de t’aime comme tu m'aimes, à travers toutes les épreuves, les ténèbres et la douleur pour atteindre nos joies, nos espoirs, et avec honnêteté et foi. Toujours. = I vow to love you as you love me, through all hardship, darkness, and pain to reach for our joys, our hopes, and with honesty and faith. Always.


	87. A Happy End for the Boy Who Lived Twice

**A Happy End for the Boy Who Lived Twice**  
-by Astoria Greengrass-Creevy

> _This Sunday was special for some reasons. Most of all, it was the wedding of Harry James Potter and Draco Lucius Potter née Malfoy. The wedding, which took part in the couple’s backyard, had a number of special things and surprises for its guests and the couple itself._
> 
> _The beautiful and careful arrangement outside leading up towards a bench under pine trees had been decorated with rose leafs, which were collected over the years by Draco from their very own rose bushes. The guest list, which incorporated all surviving members of Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of the Phoenix, most Hogwarts professors and friends and family, surprised everyone with three uncounted people. These people might have as well been James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, all of them dead, yet still alive in the past. We have all read Harry Potter’s book and know that for a fact, all of them traveled through time to live in the future for a few months._
> 
> _Draco in his black suit and red tie stood at the front first, looking at his future husband arriving and the people before were all the children Harry Potter had adopted. There was Teddy Lupin – the ring bearer – looking incredibly handsome and sweet in his blue tux with the matching blue hair. Then came Lisa, the oldest of the bunch, followed by Susan and Amadeus, the two girls were wearing matching dresses and Amadeus wore the blue suit as well. All of that was followed by the family dog, wearing something close to a suit around his collar. And at the end, Harry James Potter – the Savior himself – in an innocently white suit with a green tie walked towards Draco. Both were fighting heavily to keep the tears at bay._
> 
> _The vows – the part everyone had been waiting for – was the most beautiful thing that had happened. Draco Lucius Potter promised his heart, mind and whole being to his newlywed husband and even though, he once slipped into French, he corrected himself and repeated what he wanted to say in English._
> 
> _The biggest surprise at this wedding was Harry Potter’s vow entirely in French! None of the attendees could stop their tears, since not even Harry or Draco had these under control. For those of you, who wanted to know what he said, let me summarize them for you: I love you, Draco Lucius Potter._
> 
> _While the celebrations went on, the couple was hiding on the bench under the trees, where they spent their time, surrounded by their family and eating chocolate cake, next to the typical banana cake, we all love that much, since it’s the same from Harry Potter’s book._
> 
> _Now, all that is left is to congratulate the two newlywed people. The speeches at their wedding had also said it all: Harry James Potter and Draco Lucius Potter match perfectly together. And who would have thought that? Well, after that wedding, it’s clear to me and everyone who was there: You are perfect together._
> 
> _For your future we wish you only the best! Happy days and only the smallest of problems, which you two can work through easily. We all know that you can do this. Good luck and enjoy your married life._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the story is over. I want to thank everyone who had shown continued interest in this story and commented on every chapter! I loved to read what you guys thought about it and I hope you liked the ending.
> 
> Without you, I don't think I would have come this far. I had been close to abandonning this story about three time while writing it and every time, your interest brought me back and I am glad I did, because this story is one of my favorites (that I have written). So, thank you!
> 
> I don't know what else to say, except... thanks! And stay amazing! :D  
> Maybe we'll see each other around :P


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